A New Zealand-born man who served with the US Marine Corps for seven years but is now facing deportation says his only hope of a reprieve lies with either Congress or President Donald Trump stepping in.
Paul Canton was born in Warkworth in 1971 and moved to Australia as a child.
He first arrived in the United States at age 17 but overstayed his student exchange visa and instead enlisted in the US Marines on March 29, 1991.
In 1998, after leaving the Marines, he settled in Florida, where he built a life, raised a family and voted for years believing he was a US citizen.
However, in 2019, he discovered he had never obtained citizenship, and a federal judge recently ruled he was ineligible because the conflict tied to his military service had ended before his active duty began.
Immigration sponsorship by his adult children, who are US citizens, has also been ruled out for Canton due to his past voting.
“Unfortunately, that’s the thing that’s really nailed me,” Canton said.
“I carried myself as a United States citizen, not being one, that’s the death knell for any chance of citizenship.”
Canton is now calling on a bill to be passed through Congress that would allow the military to hold the responsibility for the immigration needs of its personnel.
“We need a bill to be passed that allows the military to take care of the immigration needs of its members past, present and future – and their families,” he said.
“I have four years of active service, and they know everything about me.
“Then I get handed over to a different government agency that knows nothing about me. They get to make the ruling on yay or nay, whether they think I’m good enough for citizenship.”
Canton said there was “nothing left” in terms of options to allow him to stay, unless a bill was passed through Congress or he received presidential naturalisation.
“Unfortunately, it just seems like I’m hitting a brick wall,” he said.
“It needs to change, but nobody’s really willing to go out on a limb and do something about it.
“Best we can hope for, maybe I get a special bill in Congress, maybe the President goes ahead and naturalises me.”
He said he had members of Congress and Senators backing his case, including Congressman Randy Fine.
“I’m hoping Congressman Fine will be able to get in touch with [the President] and we can go ahead and get it moving.”
The Herald has approached the White House for comment on Canton’s case, as well as various press offices for US President Donald Trump, but has not received a reply.
In a statement supplied to Military.com, Fine said work was being done to determine any remaining avenues to grant Canton citizenship.
“My office is aware of Mr Canton’s situation, and we are working with our partners in the administration to determine what options may be available in light of the recent court decisions.
“We will keep the constituent updated as we learn more.”
Canton said he isn’t the only veteran facing a similar reality.
“I know I’m not alone,” he said.
“I’ve heard horror stories of veterans and their family members going through immigration.
“There was one Afghanistan veteran suffering from PTSD and when they picked him up, they deported him.
“Congress just needs to allow the military to take care of the immigration needs of their own members and their families.”
Deportation would see Canton return to his birthplace in New Zealand, a decision he said would leave him starting with nothing but the shirt on his back, he said.
When asked whether he felt he had fallen through the cracks of a larger system, Canton said it feels as though he had “been shoved through a crack”.
Canton said his service cannot be taken away from him.
“I have earned the title of United States Marine and they’re never going to take that from me,” he told Yahoo News.