Navy worried about recruit numbers due to Trump administration's green card policy

The U.S. Navy has concerns about meeting recruiting targets due to a more stringent policy for green-card holders adopted by the Trump administration, according to a report by The Washington Post.

A military official speaking to the newspaper anonymously said there are over 2,800 green-card holders waiting to start basic training.

Naval officials called this backlog “untenable” in a document obtained by The Post, adding the situation brings “increasing risk of mission failure.”

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These concerns along with a district court judge’s recent preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s green-card policies have led the Pentagon to issue a directive sending thousands of waiting recruits to training.

According to the document, the average background check time for a green-card holder trying to enlist grew to 354 days under the Trump administration policy, whereas the average wait time for a U.S. citizen is 168 days.