Posted on 03/15/2026 7:05:57 AM PDT by Miami Rebel
After fighting for almost a decade to gain U.S. citizenship, time is running out for Marine Corps veteran Paul Canton.
He’ll likely be deported soon back to his native New Zealand, despite serving in the U.S. military for seven years, and building a life in Central Florida for more than 25 years.
Canton’s story first hit the news cycle in 2020 when his application for citizenship was rejected by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, even though the former Marine had no criminal record.
Despite the setback, Canton and his family kept working on his citizenship case, gaining support from leaders on both sides of the political spectrum.
However, Canton’s glimmer of hope was torpedoed in February when a federal judge nixed his appeal, bringing him one step closer to leaving the place he’s called home for 35 years.
Paul Canton built a life in Central Florida, got married and raised a family after leaving the Marine Corps in 1998. (Facebook) 'Flawed System' Both Democratic and Republican politicians, especially from Florida, have voiced concerns over Canton’s plight, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, along with former Congresswomen Val Demings and current representative Daniel Webster, some even offering help to the former Marine.
But Canton feels the U.S. immigration system is flawed, especially when laws aren’t in the books to allow automatic citizenship to veterans who were honorably discharged with no prior criminal transgressions. His attorney, Elizabeth Ricci, was hopeful Canton would receive citizenship on appeal, but that wasn’t the case.
Left with few options, Canton is planning to uproot his life in the U.S. and return to New Zealand.
Canton looks back on his service with pride. His home in Marion County, Florida, is decorated with memories from his life as a Marine.
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
“Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (Hart-Celler Act)”
No, it does not give other countries the right to prevent immigration to the United States. It in no way gives other countries veto power over immigration.
It was to stop the quota system that was in place since the 1920s, not to give any foreign nation veto powers.
Hmmmm, seems he, too, was married to a US citizen, right? If so, how come he wasn’t granted citizenship at some point?
Paperwork seems to be the issue in many of these cases. The intent seems to be proper, but someone, somewhere, didn’t do the paperwork.
At the same time, I know people who married illegal aliens and that got them citizenship. To me, that should have been a crime on both their parts.
No ID ???
No NZ passport ???
No BC ???
He mentions a DL that needed to be renewed
How did he get that ???
Other than the temp student visa did he have an Alien Registration card ???
What type of documents did he have when he arrived here ???
Does he have a SSN ???
“Not enough info When and how did he enter the country ???”
He entered on a student visa and stayed after it expired.
He was an illegal when he enlisted.
“Who was the judge that denied him?”
The one that followed the law.
As a side note, the Federal Appeals judge in the case is Embry Kidd, a Biden appointee......
Ah, come on now, what is the real story here? One would expect just a modicum of truth from a military source.
Cross your ‘t’s’ and dot your ‘i’s’... Everything should be good. He must of screwed up something.
If you know anyone who's been deported and have seen their paperwork. You see how countries like Mexico let citizens emigrate without batting an eye but countries like Scotland, Germany, or Poland recall their citizens as their visas expire.
As for the scenario in this thread where the individual served in the U.S. military as a non-citizen, we had several in our squadron. For those that selected the path to U.S. citizenship, we went through all the paperwork with them. Peformance reviews and testimonies from their commanding officers were part of that package.
There are rules attached to serving in the military to get a green card or citizenship. Canton, a New Zealand-born former U.S. Marine, was denied U.S. citizenship because a federal judge ruled that despite his honorable service, he did not serve during a designated “period of hostility.” Though he enlisted on March 29, 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, his active duty began after the conflict officially ended. He was not a full time marine, but a reservist. He would have been required to serve at least one year active duty post 2000 when the US law, 8 U.S.C. § 1439, was put into effect which expanded the military coverage. But no one was grandfathered and he left the military 2 years before it was made a law. So at the time, he was under the old laws.
The term war is where it breaks down. An action by a POTUS to fight in a sortie is not a war. Only congress can declare war and they haven’t declared war since 1942, WW II. Everything after that was a conflict which is not covered under the law.
wy69
Didn’t he uproot his life in New Zealand first? 🤔
My interest in this situation is due to the fact that I was born in N
However I applied to IMMIGRATE and completed everything required before I left to travel to America
I knew it was illegal for me to vote before I became an American citizen
This guy is just a typical illegal alien
When his student visa expired he could have gone back home to NZ and applied to IMMIGRATE but he chose not to
BTW American citizenship is not automatic for veterans you still have to apply and go through the same process like other IMMIGRANTS
He never applied because he knew he was here illegally
It was his family and friends who seemed to have pushed him to apply
This is par for the course for Western countries including ours.
Bring the full hammer of enforcement down upon whites who have ran afoul of immigration laws while turning a blind eye to the Congolese cannibals, Afghan terrorists, Indian scammers, Honduran drunk drivers, and Chinese espionage agents.
Of course, so many here are like, "If he's illegal, he's gotta go!"
At 17 you don’t have a life to uproot
One must file with the IRS using a SSN number. His was either falsely obtained, or fradulent.
This is from the article and this is where the problem lies: “In his youth, Canton was granted a foreign exchange student visa but overstayed his time. He decided to enlist in the Marine Corps on March 29, 1991, amid Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf. He said his recruiter promised him citizenship if he served and was discharged honorably.”
Canton was an exchange student, overstayed his visa. You need to be at least a green card holder to join the military. Somehow the recruiter overlooked this fact and sign up any warm body he can find.
These aren’t the people to get rid of, we want them here.
But with Biden’s flood of anyone breathing coming in, a good guy like this gets lumped in.
Cmon President Trump, give this guy citizenship
Shoulda thunk of that ahead of time.
I hear New Zealand is nice this time of year.
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