Immigration Policy Center
918 F Street, NW, 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20004
ESSENTIAL TO THE FIGHT:
Immigrants in the Military,
Five Years After 9/11
by Margaret D. Stock
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Excerpt
Changes in Enlistment Statutes
In January 2006, Congress substantially changed the
military enlistment statutes, repealing the separate statutes
that had previously governed enlistment in each of the services
and replacing them with a single statute. This new statute gave
the Secretaries of the separate services authority to waive the
requirement that a person seeking to enlist have U.S.
citizenship or LPR status if they determine “that such enlistment is
vital to the national interest.”22 The new statute also deleted
the former statutory distinction between “time of peace” and
“time of war.”23 Although a senior Pentagon official has testified
before Congress that he is aware of this new authority,24
the military services to date have made no public effort to
enlist immigrants who are not LPRs or naturalized citizens.
New Visas for Translators
Recognizing that immigrants could provide special assistance to
the armed forces as translators, Congress in 2006 also
passed a law providing for up to 50 immigrant visas per year for
translators serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.25 Given the great
need for Arabic, Pashto, Dari, and other translators, it is not
clear why Congress chose this low number. The Pentagon did,
however, provide additional avenues for qualified translators to
serve in the military. The Army in particular devised a special
“9L” translator aide program for enlisted soldiers26 and sought
recruits through Arabic language advertising during World
Cup soccer matches.27 Recruits like Kuwaiti-born Corporal
Yousef A. Badou, a Marine who has served three tours of duty
in Iraq and who speaks Arabic fluently, are said to be “force
multipliers” for the armed forces in that they strengthen the
military far more than their numbers alone would suggest.28
AGENCY ACTIONS TO ENHANCE
MILITARY IMMIGRATION BENEFITS
In response to these changes in the law, U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency in the
Department of Homeland Security charged with processing
the immigration-related petitions of military members,
held its first overseas military naturalization ceremonies in
2004.29 More than 1,000 immigrant members of the military
became citizens in overseas ceremonies in FY 2005.30
USCIS also announced that it had reduced the processing
time for military naturalization applications substantially by
instituting a special procedure that allowed military members
to consent to the use of their enlistment fingerprints for
immigration purposes.31 Many military members, however,
have continued to report problems with their applications
due to USCIS’s inability to complete security checks in a
timely manner.32 Finally, more than 100 immigrant military
members earned their citizenship posthumously after dying
in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.33 A few have died while
their naturalization applications were being processed, such
as Army Reserve Specialist Kendell K. Frederick, who was
killed while traveling in a convoy on his way to a base in Iraq
where he could check on his citizenship paperwork.34
military enlistment statutes, repealing the separate statutes
that had previously governed enlistment in each of the services
and replacing them with a single statute. This new statute gave
the Secretaries of the separate services authority to waive the
requirement that a person seeking to enlist have U.S.
citizenship or LPR status if they determine “that such enlistment is
vital to the national interest.”22 The new statute also deleted
the former statutory distinction between “time of peace” and
“time of war.”23 Although a senior Pentagon official has testified
before Congress that he is aware of this new authority,24
the military services to date have made no public effort to
enlist immigrants who are not LPRs or naturalized citizens.
New Visas for Translators
Recognizing that immigrants could provide special assistance to
the armed forces as translators, Congress in 2006 also
passed a law providing for up to 50 immigrant visas per year for
translators serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.25 Given the great
need for Arabic, Pashto, Dari, and other translators, it is not
clear why Congress chose this low number. The Pentagon did,
however, provide additional avenues for qualified translators to
serve in the military. The Army in particular devised a special
“9L” translator aide program for enlisted soldiers26 and sought
recruits through Arabic language advertising during World
Cup soccer matches.27 Recruits like Kuwaiti-born Corporal
Yousef A. Badou, a Marine who has served three tours of duty
in Iraq and who speaks Arabic fluently, are said to be “force
multipliers” for the armed forces in that they strengthen the
military far more than their numbers alone would suggest.28
AGENCY ACTIONS TO ENHANCE
MILITARY IMMIGRATION BENEFITS
In response to these changes in the law, U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency in the
Department of Homeland Security charged with processing
the immigration-related petitions of military members,
held its first overseas military naturalization ceremonies in
2004.29 More than 1,000 immigrant members of the military
became citizens in overseas ceremonies in FY 2005.30
USCIS also announced that it had reduced the processing
time for military naturalization applications substantially by
instituting a special procedure that allowed military members
to consent to the use of their enlistment fingerprints for
immigration purposes.31 Many military members, however,
have continued to report problems with their applications
due to USCIS’s inability to complete security checks in a
timely manner.32 Finally, more than 100 immigrant military
members earned their citizenship posthumously after dying
in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.33 A few have died while
their naturalization applications were being processed, such
as Army Reserve Specialist Kendell K. Frederick, who was
killed while traveling in a convoy on his way to a base in Iraq
where he could check on his citizenship paperwork.34
Sources
- 21 NDAA 2004, §1703.
- 22 10 U.S.C. §504 (2006).
- 24 Statement of David S. C. Chu, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, before the Senate Committee on the Armed Services,
- regarding “Contributions of Immigrants to the United States Armed Forces,” July 10, 2006.
- 25 National Defense Authorization Act of 2006, §1059, Pub. L. 109-163, 119 Stat. 3136.
- 14 INA §329A, 8 U.S.C. §1440-1, added by Section 2 of the Posthumous Citizenship for Active Duty Service Act of 1989, Pub. L. 101-249,
- 104 Stat. 94 (Mar. 6, 1990).
- 15 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004, Pub. L. 108-136 [hereinafter NDAA 2004].
- 16 NDAA 2004, §1701(a).
- 17 NDAA 2004, §1701(b).
- 18 NDAA 2004, §1701(c)(2).
- 19 NDAA 2004, §1701(d).
- 20 NDAA 2004, §1702. The Selected Reserve includes members of the Reserve Components who are obligated to “drill” on a regular basis and
- who are more likely to be mobilized.
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