The parents of a Maryland soldier who died in Iraq have a special request for President Bush ? sign the bill that bears their son?s name.
The Kendell Frederick Citizenship Act, which makes it easier for military service members who are immigrants to become citizens, awaits Bush?s signature.
“I can?t see why the president wouldn?t sign it. These soldiers are fighting for democracy in Iraq and yet they don?t have democracy themselves,” said Frederick?s mother, Michelle Murphy, 42, of Randallstown.
Frederick, a 21-year-old Army specialist who worked as a generator mechanic, was killed in Iraq on Oct. 19, 2005, when his convoy struck an improvised explosive device.
The Trinidad-born man was on his way to a base to have his fingerprints taken when he was killed.
Frederick would not have been on that convoy had it not been for his desire to gain his citizenship, his parents said.
“[Immigration and Naturalization Services] rejected his fingerprints and wanted another set within two weeks. I told them he was in Iraq fighting a war. They told me that was their policy. I was so angry,” Murphy said.
Frederick moved to the United States legally when he was 15 and attended Randallstown High School, where he joined the JROTC program. He found a passion for the military and enlisted during his senior year.
“It?s a sad irony that the thing he wanted to take care of the most ? his citizenship ? was what did him in,” said Kenmore Murphy, Frederick?s stepfather.
His story inspired local federal lawmakers to push for a bill to improve the citizenship process for legal immigrants serving in the military, which recently passed both houses of Congress.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski and Rep. Elijah Cummings, both wrote letters to Bush urging his support.
“If it were not for the circumstances of his death, and his mother turning her pain into a cause, none of this would have happened,” Cummings told The Examiner.
The Murphys hope the law will create a legacy for their son known for his kindness and zest for life.
“The bill brings closure in that hopefully no other family will go through this,” Kenmore Murphy said. “The loss will still be continuous for us. At least something good can come out of it. Maybe he was the chosen one.”
