Vet, facing deportation, says Army let him down

If they serve, they should stay! These are not just "illegal immigrants" looking for what this nation has to offer. They are willing to lay down their lives because they really want to pay this country back, and, should the day come, to even lay down their lives for it.

Vet, facing deportation, says Army let him down

By Gerald Ensley - Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat
Posted : Sunday Jun 27, 2010 8:24:01 EDT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Axel Runtschke is blond and blue-eyed. He hunts and fishes. He listens to country music and watches NASCAR. He spent three years in the Army, is married and has three kids.

He’s a regular American guy. Except that he’s an illegal immigrant.

And though he has been in the United States for 20 years after moving here from his native Germany as a child, he has been unable to gain legal residency status — even though he said the Army promised him they would take care of it when he enlisted in 1997.

So he is unable to get a job, is running out of money and his home is being foreclosed. The stress is overwhelming.

“I don’t sleep, it’s a constant headache. I’m at my wit’s end,” said Runtschke, 32. “I made a commitment to this country and I fulfilled it honorably. I just want them to recognize this.”

Tallahassee lawyers Neil Rambana and Elizabeth Ricci, who specialize in immigration law, are working to gain Runtschke a green card as a permanent resident, if not full-fledged citizenship.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/06/gns_army_citizenship_062610/