Pentagon Ending Delay for Green Card Holders to Begin Basic Training

Thousands of green card holders, whose military service had been left in limbo because of a Trump administration policy, are now getting the go-ahead to be sent to recruit training by the Pentagon, The Washington Post is reporting.

The action comes after the suspension of an administration policy that required more-stringent background checks on some of the immigrants looking to serve, the newspaper said.

That policy required green card holders to undergo a full background check and address any concerns before they could go to boot camp, the Post reported. As a result, thousands of people were left waiting to begin military training.

A federal court in California had issued a preliminary injunction and said the Pentagon had not satisfactorily explaining why the new screen is necessary. The policy has had a major impact on the military:

• The Navy has more than 2,870 green card holders waiting to go to recruit training
• The Air Force has 470 green card holders waiting
• The Army declined to say how many it has waiting
• The Marine Corps announced it has 1,062 green card holder waiting recruit training

Air Force Lt. Col. Carla Gleason, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said the services will begin sending the recruits to train this week.

"The Department is complying with the district court's order," Gleason, told told ABC News.

• Army Expelled 500 Immigrant Recruits in 1 Year
• Problems for Pentagon's Immigrant Recruit Program