Jun 21, 2008 7:36 am US/Eastern
New Citizenship Law Honors Fallen Md. Soldier
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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For years, Kendall Frederick dreamed of becoming a U.S. citizen. But it wasn't until after he was killed in Iraq that the Army specialist finally got his wish.
WJZ
For years, Kendall Frederick dreamed of becoming a U.S. citizen. But it wasn't until after he was killed in Iraq that the Army specialist finally got his wish.
Now, as
Jessica Kartalija reports, a new law speeds the process by which foreign-born service members become U.S citizens.
Michelle Murphy wears dogtags on a chain around her neck.
Her son, Sgt. Kendall Frederick, was born in Trinidad, came to America at 15 and joined the military after high school.
For months he tried to become an American citizen. He was returning to base in Iraq, after being fingerprinted for his application, when a roadside bomb exploded, killing him.
Days later, he was posthumously granted citizenship.
"It made me angry. He'd been trying to get this for over a year and here in his death, after in a couple seconds, he is a citizen. Am I supposed to be happy? I was not happy," said Murphy.
For the next two-and-a-half years, Murphy pushed to have the Kendall Frederick Citizenship Act passed. It would ease the process by which foreign-born soldiers can become a U.S. citizen.
Senator Barbara Mikulski and Congressman Elijah Cummings backed the bill, which quickly gained the support of Congress.
"To me, it's really hypocritical of the United States government to have them do that. I know that not everyone wants to be a citizen, but if they choose to, they should be allowed to," said Murphy.
Service members will not be required to submit an additional set of fingerprints for their citizenship application. The Department of Homeland Security is required to make service members aware of any policy changes in the citizenship process.
"One person can make a difference and I try and teach my children you stand up for what you believe in and obviously something good came out of it," said Murphy. "I'm sure he's smiling, definitely. He was that type of person."
Senator Mikulski and Congressman Cummings will present Michelle Murphy with an official copy of the bill at Fort McHenry on July 1.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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