Why Immigrants Serve in U.S. Military. It's Not to Gain Citizenship.
Immigrant enlistments is due to economic factors like poverty and debt, and cultural factors, such as valuing warrior masculinity.
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Immigrant enlistments is due to economic factors like poverty and debt, and cultural factors, such as valuing warrior masculinity.
Military personnel attend a special naturalization ceremony in New York on June 30, 2023. Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty ImagesAs the U.S. military struggles through the worst recruitment crisis in 25 years, it has redoubled efforts to recruit from immigrant communities. Immigrants who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents are eligible to join the armed forces – and have done so since the beginning of U.S. history. Service in the military means an expedited path to U.S.
Here’s some interesting commentary from the opposite poles of the political spectrum.
Another path to citizenship has become mired and murky.
The U.S. government has long celebrated having immigrants in the military, but Sofya Aptekar's new book shows it's a much more complicated story.