. >> mario hernÁndez, no era lo que pensaba, un estadounidense, ahora tiene una hoja de servicio peroles. >> esta es la Única patria que he conocido, me fui de cuba cuando tenÍa nueve aÑos. >> despuÉs de vivir 50 aÑos en los estados unidos y ser empleado federal toda su vida, Él cuando mario hernÁndez, descubriÓ que no es ciudadano norteamericano. >> me dieron un golpe en el estÓmago y me sacaron el aire. >> tendrÁ por casualidad cuando solicitÓ un pasaporte para salir por primera vez en un crucero con su esposa, con una extraÑa confusiÓn el gobierno no se dio cuenta que no era americano. tampoco el gobierno se dio cuenta cuando ejerciÓ su derecho al voto en mÚltiples ocasiones. >> esto ha sido realmente una pesadilla. >> no sabe porque sus mayores no realizaron el proceso, el caso es que ahora esta en problemas, inmigraciÓn reaccionÓ y dice que cuando un error se descubre por una apelaciÓn, tratamos de que esto no ocurra en el futuro, realizaremos el caso del seÑor hernÁndez para resolver su solicitud, la comparecencia serÁ el prÓximo miÉrcoles, parece que lo harÁn estadounidense de

this is where mario hernandez will become a citizen in the next few minutes. we're not sure when. there is a gaggle of press here awaiting the situation. just an hour ago look to be happening in a month or so. it's a happy moment for the hernandez family. >> thank you very much. again, he came to this country from cuba, robert, thank you, and he fought in the vietnam war. he thought he was legal. he applied for a passport and found out it's all for not. now it has a happy ending. stations along the mexico border who save the lives of migrants crossing in the summer months. now over 13 year period there have been 2,000 deaths recorded in that area due to extreme lack of hydration. and if you want to learn more about the issue of immigration we invite you to go to our website www.aljazeera.com. there you'll find details on this sorry and others, including our special series called "borderland." on "borderland" we talked about that very issue, immigrants trying to come to this country without water. >>> coming up, people have mixed feelings when it comes to edward snowden. now he'll

mario hernandez would fulfill his dream today as he hoped, becoming a u.s. citizen at last. >> how great does it feel to be an american citizen. >> it's the greatest feeling in the world. it always has been but now it's even sweeter. >> the hernandez family will never forget may 21, 2014, and perhaps a trail has been paved for others afraid or confused by immigration law in america. >> now i have to make an important phone call to my children. >> robert ray, al jazeera, jacksonville, florida. >> coming up on al jazeera america, people in iran thrown in jail for dancing to a song about being happy. that's next. >> so edward snowe snowdon is nn storeinstores on comic book she. the book is called "edward snowdon." the author said that she found him fascinating. >>> the song is gaining popularity all around the world. in iran six dancers appeared in a video was arrested, most have been released, but we heard that the director is still being detained. >> yes, the video shows a group of iranian men and women dancing to the song "happy." take a look. ♪ clap along i

inside there mario hernandez is in a room. his wife is awaiting patiently in a room outside. mario is with his attorney. we were hoping that they would walk out at some point during this live shot, but we will get them when they come out, and we will bring the news to you, likely good news for hernandez. >> robert ray live in jacksonville, florida today. thank you very much. we'll be watching that story as well. >>> we also remind you if you would like to learn more about the issues of immigration go to our website, aljazeera.com. we ask you to click on the border land story. that gives you an in-depth look at the immigrant experience in the united states. thanks for watching al jazeera america. i'm dell walters in new york. "inside story" is next. morning. he was summoned there for an emergency meeting. emergency meeting. >> when people used to be arrested and charged with serious crimes against the united states and it's people, the next stop used to be a courtroom in the united states. after this latest terror trial in new york ended in conviction, we asked, why are we try

>> mario hernandez would fulfill his dream today, as he had hoped, becoming a u.s. citizen at last. >> how great is it to be an american citizen right now? >> it is the greatest feeling in the world. it's always been but now it makes it even sweeter. >> reporter: the hernandez family will never forget, may 21st, 2014. perhaps a trail has been paved for others confused about integration law in california. >> now i have to make a phone call to my children. >> robert ray, al jazeera, jacksonville, florida. >> coming up disgraceful, if allegations proved true that veterans suffered and died because of delays at the va. and unlocking the past, present and future of christianity of the most holy site, protecting the church of the holy sepulcher. the performance review. that corporate trial by fire when every slacker gets his due. and yet, there's someone around the office who hasn't had a performance review in a while. someone whose poor performance is slowing down the entire organization. i'm looking at you phone company dsl. check your speed. see how fast your internet

mario hernandez is going to learn his fate in jacksonville, florida.w could something like this happen? >> >> this is a scenario 50 years in the making. according to mario hernandez, immigration attorney, this is a classic example of a broken system with rules wrapped in a maze of confusion. >> tallahassee retiree mario hernandez came to the u.s. in 1965 with his parents when the family fled cuba. since then, he's lived a normal american life, got a social security card, served three years in the army, voted in every major election since 1976 and worked for the justice democratic as a prison supervisor, only recently did he discover that he's not really a u.s. citizen. >> it's very disheartening. very disheartening. >> after he and his wife retired last year, they wanted to take a cruise to celebrate, and then they asked for a passport, so i didn't have one, went on line to look what would require to get a passport. when i was asked for your birth certificate or a certificate of naturalization. >> he realized he had neither, and in march, immigration a

robert ray, aljazeera, jacksonville, florida. >> as for that cruise, mario hernandez said he's going to put it off for now but is definitely getting a new voter registration card. >> what a happy ending. >> he said he thought he was going to get thrown back into the system of delays, when the press attention was involved, all of a sudden, all of that red tape went away. >> really makes you think about what it means to be an american. >> yeah, nice. fighting the devastating effects of a hurricane by turning the storm against them, the proposal being made to turn wind hurricanes into hurricane busters. >> joining spiderman, the x men and superman, one comic book maker creates a new character out of nsa leaker edward snow jean fighting for a better way of life, fast food workers going toe-to-toe with police. that and other stories captured by our citizen journalists around the world. >> children given up for adoption when the dads didn't even know what's the law. the performance review. that corporate trial by fire when every slacker gets his due. and yet, there's someone around the off

mario hernandez took the oath of citizenship. >> feels great. feels great. couldn't be any happier. >> the first thing he will do is reregister to vote. >> they are hoping to have sunny skies all week for fleet week. >> we are live on board the oak hill docked in new york harbor. we are glad it was back after the sequester it was canceled last year. >> live here on the uss oak hill. it has been a little unsettled across the area we have had showers and the storms. it is a little better. the showers start to go lighten up. other parts could be looking at the parts of northeast the midwest and even the plains. there is large chal and danieling winds. the tornado threat is limited. we don't see a whole lot of rotation but warming up later today and afternoon and evening. it takes one storm and a couple of minutes for all of that to chanl then we see damage. right now we are mild across the center of the country. take a look at that 70s in kansas city in the city of dallas and dell rio. mild in the new york city area as well. in the low 60s. temperatures heating

mario hernandez a cuban native worked for the u.s. of prison passing each and every background check along the way. last year when he tried to get a passport he discovered the u.s. government didn't have him registered as a citizen. immigration authorities are denying him a citizenship. hernandez is appealing that decision. >> happening today president obama will declare the oregon mountains in next moco and nati -- new mexico and national monday ums. doug luzader is live in washington. why are some calling this move a presidential land grab? >> it all depends on your sp perspective on these things. is it protecting a national resource or is it a federal land grab. president obama will go to the interior department and sign a proclamation that was declared the oregon mountain's desert peak national monument is a federal national monument. this would declare off limits about 500,000 acres of land. now new mexico congressman steve pierce is among those who are very unhappy about this. here's what he says with the land grab the president

he learnt his face after facing immigration authorities, robert ray has the story >>> mario hernandez started his wednesday hoping to become what he thought he had been for the last 50 years, a legal u.s. citizen. >> i probably slept, like, two hours last night. i pray to god everything will be fine. >> he was about to face a hearing in florida that could determine the rest of his life that might make him a criminal. hernandez and wam to the country as a child, served in vietnam, and worked as a prison guard found out by accident that he was not a u.s. citizen. he discovered last year that he may be undocumented, when he wanted to take his wife on a cruise and was denied a passport. >> he entered as a cuban parolee, and having status, nothing to do with parole in the criminal sense, it's a different legal concept allowed him to have a social security number and driver is licence. he could have had that status indefinitely. >> when his parents defected from cuba they never filled out the proper paperwork. now immigration services will decide his fate, waiting patiently with his wife an

after 50 years, mario hernandez just found out he's not technically a citizen.ous background checks and voted for years. he's in limbo with immigration reviewing his case. with us is mario hernandez and his attorney elizabeth ricci. thank you for being here. this is the back story. tell me if i got it right, mr. hernandez. you immigrated here from cuba when you were 9 years old. there's a special process from cuba before you go through different phases of getting the ability to get citizenship. but they require paperwork. you didn't fill out that paperwork, do i have it right? >> yes, sir, you're correct. i filled it out now. but when i went into the service i was taken in front of an immigration judge which showed now i know was the parole paperwork. and he basically gave me the information that, you know, changed my name. i'm from a latin country where you use your mother's name and your father's name. and shorten it out. and that's when he told me, hey, i went in, and then i took the oath. and i left california for a train. and here i am, 50 years later. and

mario hernandez joins us along with his attorney, elizabeth ricci.n american again? >> it feels great. it's undescribable. my wife and i are both elated. we're so happy. i have so much to be thankful for. it's fallen into place. i really appreciate the people that supported us, the media, friends, prayers from friends. we feel great. i feel great. i was reborn. >> i can say we're happy to have you back. just give us the 15-second recap of what happened and how it felt to have something you thought you had had for 50 years all of a sudden taken away from you. >> it was like i was punched in the stomach. i've said that before. it's like the worst feeling there is. it's like you lived your whole life and it's like -- it's almost a lie. we have always held ourselves to be -- tried to be upstanding citizens. i felt like i was just lying to my friends and lying throughout my life. when we discovered that we didn't, we tried to correct it. thank god everything is over for now. >> thank god for sure. of course, there had to have been moments when you thought

we're talking about mario hernandez.eventually he went on to work for the state of florida and the u.s. bureau of prisons. but last year when he tried to get a passport to take his wife on a cruise, he found out that he was in the united states illegally. immigration authorities denied him citizenship and now he is appealing. his lawyer joined us earlier on the show. listen to this. >> when you serve in the military during the designated period of hostility, you can jump straight from, in his case, cuban parolee status straight to nationalization. he's also eligible to jump straight to naturalization because he's made significant contributions to national security. >> hernandez has a citizenship hearing later this morning. we'll let you know how that turns out. >>> the f.b.i., easing its ban on hiring pot smokers. right now the agency doesn't hire anyone who smoked marijuana in the past three years. listen to this, the director of the f.b.i. says he may have to loosen those rules in order to attract new talented agents,

. >> mario hernandez wanted to take his wife, bonita, on a cruise, but needed a passport. half a century, in this country, to hear someone tell you -- you're not a u.s. citizen. >> i feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest. i really do. i -- it is difficult even to speak about it, i'm telling you. it is -- you know. >> we should be enjoying this time of our lives. not -- living in fear that something bad may happen to him. >> the problem dates back to 1965. when hernandez' family fled communist cuba. he was granted the legal status given to all cuban immigrants. which included a social security card, but not immediate citizenship. in 1975, he believed he had become a citizen when he was sworn into the army during the vietnam war. >> i took the oath there, to uphold the laws of the constitution, bear arms. >> for two decades, hernandez worked as a federal prison guard, a job that requires u.s. citizenship and recurring background checks. among the criminals he supervised were oklahoma city bombers, timothy mcveigh and terry nichols. >> it was a very high level. >

mario hernandez only learned his status was in question when he applied for a passport.nesday. hernandez took his oath of citizenship in jacksonville florida. >> it feels great. it feels great. i couldn't be any happier, any more joy for my family for may wife, for my children. >> the 58-year-old was born in cuba. hernandez got an apology from officials who rejected his application. they now say his military service should have claerd the way for citizenship. >> you know charlie, at the time we first reported this story, he said someone should be in charge of red tape. thank goodness someone took care of this quickly. this man served our country. >> that's the nice thing about it, moving fast responding immediately, not belaboring the point. >> you can see his happiness. that's very nice. >> i think he wanted to take his wife on a cruise, so now he can go. >>> a group of kids are safe this morning but newly released surveillance video shows them being shocked while swim in a florida pool. a little girl grabbed the metal rand rail. her head lurched back as she was froze e