The Pentagon was apparently blindsided by a Trump administration move that affects children of deployed troops

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) dropped an opaque and confusing policy change affecting the citizenship of some children of US government employees and service members born abroad on Wednesday.

The Department of Defense appears to have been somewhat blindsided by the policy change, as it has struggled to provide clarity to an update that will affect an unknown number of US military personnel serving their country abroad.

Confusion around the new guidance continues, even though USCIS issued a clarification stating that most children of service members born abroad would not be affected.

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It took hours for the Department of Defense to address a policy change regarding citizenship rules for children born to US troops or government employees born abroad, and it appears they were somewhat caught off guard by the new US Citizenship and Immigration Services policy.

“The policy change from the agency, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, infuriated many at the Pentagon and confused others in the military community,” The New York Times reported, noting that some members of this community said the policy called into question the Trump administration's support for the military.

Amid confusion and outrage over the policy update, the Pentagon has struggled to provide clear answers to inquiries. “We are just learning of this change, so don't have any information right away about how this impacts our Airmen,” an Air Force source told Air Force Magazine editor Rachel Cohen Wednesday immediately after the policy was released.

Insider reached out to the Army and Navy for comment but was directed to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which responded roughly five hours after the USCIS policy became public, saying only that “DoD has been working closely with our colleagues as DHS/USCIS regarding recent policy changes and understands the estimated impact of this particular change is small.”

“We are committed to ensuring affected families are provided the appropriate information, resources, and support during this transition,” the office spokesperson added.

DoD has not made clear how many troops are estimated to be affected or clarified how the move changes existing policies for US service members. Insider again contacted the department Thursday in hopes of getting clarification, but it has yet to respond.

“We coordinated closely with DoD to try to message this as clearly as possible,” a USCIS official told reporters on a background call Thursday. “The messaging we and DoD have put out there is correct.”

The policy change, which some fear may further impact noncitizens serving in the US military, was handed down abruptly, but in tandem with other striking changes to immigration policy, including a policy protecting migrants receiving medical care in the US.

According to USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli, the memo signified little change in actual policy. But concern over the opaque language and lack of clarity surrounding which service members and government employees would be affected — and in what contexts — was palpable Wednesday evening.

USCIS issued further guidance on the policy change Wednesday evening, clarifying that the policy change may apply to children who:

Were born to non-US citizens either in or outside the US and adopted after birth.

Were born to non-US citizens like lawful permanent residents who are members of the military or a government employee and became naturalized citizens after the child was born.

Were born to US citizens who are government employees or service members but who don't meet the requirements of physical presence or residence that the policy change outlines.

But even under the new guidance, that would indicate that some children born to two US citizens serving abroad in some capacity might not obtain citizenship at birth. “If you were a U.S. citizen when you gave birth to your child while outside the United States on military orders, your child is most likely a US citizen. As long as you met certain physical presence or residence requirements before your child's birth, this policy update does not affect you,” the updated guidance states.

The new policy is set to take effect October 29, 2019.