“It is the pride of my heart to have been one of the earliest adopted sons of America...I gave my heart to the Americans and thought of nothing else but raising my banner and adding my colors to theirs.” – Marquis de Lafayette
Honorable military service has long been a path into citizenship. Since the Revolutionary War, those immigrants that served found not only welcome in the ranks, but also a welcome in society. We have long recognized willingness to sacrifice on the field of battle as a demonstration worthy of citizenship. During the Civil War, twenty percent of the Union Forces were foreign-born. After World War I 192,000 servicemembers received citizenship due to their service.1 After World War II over 100,000 individuals were granted citizenship for their service in the military.2 The Korean conflict produced approximately 31,000 new citizens as a result of their service.3 And this continues today. Since September 11th, 2001, over 37,000 foreign-born servicemembers have earned their citizenship through honorable service.4 The line of men and women who not only voted for America with their feet, but also, their bodies stretches far back into our first revolutionary days.
Long ago, I went through basic training at Fort Leonard Wood with Peter Tsui, a Taiwanese immigrant, seeking citizenship. Having served in the Army of Taiwan, he found our training and discipline fairly easy. As a company commander at Fort Hood, Texas, long before the twin-towers, I stood next to one of my soldiers, a young mechanic as he proudly took his oath of citizenship. Years later, at a Forward Operating Base in Iraq, I watched as over one hundred young men and women from FOBs around the Baghdad area took their oath of citizenship, all serving under arms in defense of our nation. Military service, especially in a time of conflict, is a crucible and a process that produces battle-tempered citizens; ones that know what it means to sacrifice for their chosen land. This is a long and honored tradition.
It grieves me to see the Army, an institution that has long welcomed the foreign-born into its ranks, turn its back on such fine, brave young men and women. While certainly imperfect, the Army has long represented what is best in American ideals. Executive order 9981, signed by President Harry Truman desegregated the American military long before the Civil Rights Act of 1957. And that is just one example of how the Army has exemplified the ideals captured in our founding documents. During my 27 year tenure in the Army, we worked hard to create an environment which recognized individuals based on mission accomplishment, not race, religion, ethnic origin, or sex. We did not always reach our goals, but we did set the bar high and strive for excellence. To see the Army take such a step backward under pressure from civilian leadership disappoints. Our experiment in democracy involves risk. It always has and always will. To hear leaders, military and civilian, so mistreat honorable men and women in the name of security or risk saddens me. Military leaders, especially those who have served in combat, know better. We made a commitment to these men and women, we must honor it. To turn our backs on them now is tantamount to leaving them wounded and isolated on the field of battle; something, according to the soldier creed, we all swore we would not do.5 We cannot take counsel of our fears. We must do the right thing and honor our word. It is the only acceptable course of action.
1. https://www.nps.gov/articles/immigrants-in-the-military-during-wwi.htm
2. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/immigrants-in-the-military-a-history-of-service/
3. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/immigrants-in-the-military-a-history-of-service/
4. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/immigrants-us-armed-forces#12
5. https://www.army.mil/values/soldiers.html
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