On Thursday, The Associated Press published a story with a headline that read, “US Army quietly discharging immigrant recruits.” That headline was quickly met with outrage — but the story itself isn’t anything new.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush called the move “disappointing.”

Film producer Adam Best claimed that the recruits were being discharged because they were immigrants.

GOP Congressmen spent the Fourth of July in Moscow. A Chinese factory is making Donald Trump’s 2020 American flags. US Army recruits are being discharged because they are immigrants. The Republican Party no longer gets to pretend it is patriotic. — Adam Best (@adamcbest) July 6, 2018

But as retired Army Col. Kurt Schlicter predicted, there was more to the story.

I guess Jon’s offering his expertise in military personnel issues.

Yah.

Here’s what’s going to happen.

It’s going to come out that a lot of them didn’t show up for training, or failed training, or couldn’t get security clearances.

And the media will never say a word about it. https://t.co/UnCbAS2c81 — Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) July 6, 2018

NPR’s Tim Mak offered a little more context, pointing out the fact that the real question — whether or not recruits are being discharged because they are immigrants — is never answered in the article.

This AP article is about immigrants who have enlisted but not gone to basic training. People who enlist but then cannot go to basic for whatever reason are discharged all the time. I bet I could find 40 recruits discharged bf basic for being too fat. — Tim Mak (@timkmak) July 6, 2018

There are a number of innocuous explanations for these discharges. Perhaps these immigrant recruits could not pass a background check (by the way there are jobs in the military that don’t require clearance) The AP does not answer the simple question: Did a policy change here? — Tim Mak (@timkmak) July 6, 2018

Air Force veteran John Noonan also posted a lengthy thread breaking down the information the AP story did not include, noting many of the same issues brought up by both Mak and Schlicter.

So here’s where I think the @AP reporter got a little confused. When you raise your hand and take an oath, you belong to the military. But you’re not technically *in* the military. It’s common to get the oath out of the way while initial background checks are on-going. — John Noonan (@noonanjo) July 6, 2018

If you clear a background investigation, great! Offto basic training and then to specialty training. Congrats private, airman, or sailor, you’re in. But, if you have some issues pop up during the background investigation and *don’t* go off to training, it’s a canceled contract — John Noonan (@noonanjo) July 6, 2018

If you separate within 180 days of service, you are given an entry-level separation. It’s not an honorable discharge. It’s not a dishonorable discharge. It’s just “hey, this isn’t going to work.” This 180 days requirement reiterated in Section 3A of the memo (above) — John Noonan (@noonanjo) July 6, 2018

Hypothetical example: You come to the US on a work Visa from Brazil. You decided to serve. You work with a recruiter, fill out the forms, take the PT test and the oath. But while you wait to ship out to basic, investigators learn you were once a runner for a Rio drug cartel. — John Noonan (@noonanjo) July 6, 2018

Sorry, but DoD is going to separate you. Does it happen often? Not really… which is why AP is talking about 40 or so people out of 70,000 immigrants in service. But is it indicative of a wider policy to expunge non-citizens from active service (as AP story suggested)? No. — John Noonan (@noonanjo) July 6, 2018

To summarize:

1. Immigrants are still welcome to earn citizenship through service.

2. DoD is not conducting widespread expulsion of non-citizens.

3. Participation in this program is down, but may be do to external factors like strong economy or stricter federal immigration law. — John Noonan (@noonanjo) July 6, 2018

Many of the recruits in question enlisted through the MAVNI Program (Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest), which began in 2009. Recruits were required to show proof of legal residence, such as a green card, and were placed on an expedited path to citizenship through their service. In 2016, however, the program was opened up further to include DACA recipients — a move which may have contributed to the confusion.