Jerry Nadler: “the en bloc amendment calls among other things for special immigrant status for Iraqi or Afghani nationals who have…”

“the en bloc amendment calls among other things for special immigrant status for Iraqi or Afghani nationals who have served as translators with the United States Armed Forces. This amendment is a direct response to the critical need for translators and linguists in our military. This interpreter shortage is well documented. The 9/11 Commission report stated that the government ``lacked sufficient translators proficient in Arabic and other key languages, resulting in a significant backlog of untranslated intercepts.'' The 2002 GAO study and the September 2004 Justice Department IG report made the same findings. The shortage of Arabic translators in Iraq and Afghanistan has made it harder for U.S. soldiers to protect themselves and has jeopardized interrogations of suspected al Qaeda terrorists in U.S. custody. {time} 1715 I commend the author of this legislation for his willingness to open the immigration doors to Arabic and Farsi linguists serving as translators with the United States Armed Forces. Yet, the answer to this dire need is not to give U.S. citizenship to Iraqis and Afghanis, but rather to stop discriminating against American citizens who are ready to loyally serve their country as Arabic translators. It is no coincidence that this bill would create 50 spots for Iraqi and Afghani nationals, almost the exact number of translators who have been discharged under the military's ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' law in effect since 1994.…”