Policy

United By Service, But Not By Citizenship

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The United States is proud to say that its military is a true melting pot of not only colors, cultures, and sexual orientations, but also nationalities. The U.S. military has been molded by more than just Americans; today, it is built by those born outside of U.S. borders as well. Throughout the years, the United States has brought together those who believed in more than just their own lands; those who believed in not just their own freedom, but also those of the people they fought for. With time, however, policies have changed, and those who used to join the U.S. military for the perk of becoming an immediate citizen now face with a multitude of struggles.

Service During Peace and Wartime

Since the Revolutionary War, the United States has accepted those willing to abandon their own lands to serve in both war and peace. America has promised those airmen, Marines, sailors, and soldiers a safe haven paid through their sweat and blood on the battlefield. However, those who wish to serve Uncle Sam are now at the mercy of bureaucratic management.

In 1947, the Military Bases Agreement allowed for the creation of a U.S. military bases in the Philippines, resulting in the total of 35,000 Filipinos enlisting between 1952 and 1991. That tradeoff was fair, considering the Filipino people have opened their borders to one of the greatest powers in the world; the least that could be done to pay off such a great debt was to accept their people into the U.S. military. Next, thanks to the Lodge Act of 1950, non-citizen Eastern Europeans were allowed to join the armed forced between 1950 and 1959. To this day, about 5,000 green card holders enlist each year. Since 11 September 2001, over 109,150 members of the United States military have been granted citizenship through their service.

At the Mercy of Bureaucratic Management

In 2021 alone, 8,800 men and women joined the American military and were granted citizenship due to their sacrifice for a country that was not theirs; not at the time, at least. Of those, 76 percent were men, and only 24 percent were women. There is no telling how many of them could have joined at a higher rank—including as officers.

Although many already hold degrees, non-citizens are not allowed to become officers in the armed forces. Those holding a doctorate in Peru, for example, must climb the ranks as ordinary E-3s. Permanent citizens who have at least a bachelor’s degree are omitted for the officers’ programs due to their citizenship status. The expedited process of acquiring such status is granted only if their current commanding officer signs off on their documentation. Those whose green card is nearing its expiration date, however, do not get such treatment due to the elongated process of getting the commanding officer to not only see the paperwork, but also to be gracious enough to sign it. They are not bound by any law to do so.

The Military Accessions Vital to National Interest (MAVNI) Recruitment Program made it possible for green card holders to be able to acquire their citizenship after finishing Basic Training. However, the program was suspended in 2017 due to a sudden influx of candidates, leaving those who had joined on a soon to expire green card serve in limbo. Those who had pledged to serve a country that was not their own could no longer rely on the promise of becoming one of that very country’s people. Thankfully, there are still expedited means for service members to become citizens, but these are not guaranteed and depend on the capriciousness of the commanding officer of the installation the service member is applying from.

If not so inclined, a commanding officer may decline a service member’s application to become a citizen. Excuses along the lines of “not enough time on installation” may be thrown around, making it impossible for those attending mandatory schooling for their rate to reach their citizenship goal. For example, if a service member joined the one of the forces four months prior to their green card expiring, and they stayed anywhere longer than three months of that time in Basic Training, the commanding officer may deem them unfit to become a citizen—not due to their legal or moral standards, but simply because they do not see it necessary to pull the service member out of class for the biometrics or interview which would grant them citizenship. On the other hand, the commanding officer may grant the enlisted service member a way to attend such appointments, which in turn would push them back in their training and leave them vulnerable to being set back in training—thus making them forfeit their rate altogether, a rate that was not chosen by the service member in the first place but rather due to their lack of choice.

Although the United States has outstretched its hand in the past to help those willing to sacrifice their lives in the fight for the American freedom, today it is much less keen on accepting individuals not born on its soil. From cutting programs that would reward non-citizens for joining the U.S. military to restricting job opportunities within the service, the U.S military has fallen deep into the complacency of accepting green card holders without any merit for doing so. Once a great nation with an initiative to enlist as many as 35,000 non-citizens from a single country in the span of 39 years, the United States has put many obstacles for those willing to serve it. A doctor across the border is today’s E-3, struggling to make ends meet while wielding great knowledge. A service member with a bachelor’s degree fights their way through ranks with those who have just finished high school. A commanding officer does not think that a particular enlisted service member is worthy of receiving citizenship simply due to their short stay at a training facility. Noncitizens join the United States military every day, yet they are not guaranteed what they have fought to cease. Bureaucracy may have its merits, but it has no place in the discussion of whether a United States enlisted service member should be allowed a permanent stay on the soil they have pledged to give their lives away for.

 

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