Illegals in the Military??

[hukarez]

I'm not too familiar with the whole process and all...but is it actually possible for illegals to join the military??

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...s/15115716.htm

Bush helps wounded soldier become U.S. citizen

By Richard Sisk
New York Daily News
(MCT)
WASHINGTON - President Bush paid tribute Monday to a badly wounded soldier with the Brooklyn brass to get in his commander in chief's face about becoming a citizen.
"He grabbed my hand, and he said, `I'm not a citizen of the U.S. and I want to be one,'" Bush said of Army Spec. Noe (Lito) Santos-Dilone.
"Now, here's a man who knows how to take it directly to the top," Bush said with a grin.
Bush later presided at the swearing-in ceremony for Santos, 21, originally from the Dominican Republic, and Mexican-born soldiers Spec. Sergio Lopez, 24, of Bolingbrook, Ill., and Pfc. Eduardo Leal-Cardenas, 21, of Los Angeles, at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Speaking later from a hospital bed, where he was being treated for his wounds, Santos recalled his friendly confrontation with Bush after the president spoke to the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in May.
As Bush glad-handed guests, Santos said, "I leaned in and told him I wanted to be a citizen. I was wearing a suit and I was sort of behind a pole so he couldn't see that I lost my leg."
Santos said Bush "looked confused. He was like `What?' He asked if I was a soldier and I said, `Yeah, I'm a soldier.'"
Bush quickly summoned aides to work on the problem, leading to Monday's ceremony.
In his remarks, Bush pressed for breaking the logjam on immigration reform, noting that currently "33,000 people who weren't born here serve in our military" and after Sept. 11 he made them eligible for citizenship.
Santos proudly recalled the date he arrived in the U.S. at age 10 - July 8, 1995 - to join his parents in Brooklyn.
He was still a student in Queens when the World Trade Center towers come down on Sept. 11, inspiring him to join the Army. "I didn't even know who Osama bin Laden was then," Santos said.
While he was serving as a Humvee turret machine gunner last Sept. 6, Santos' vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb set off by a laser outside Baghdad, the Army said.
Just before the explosion, "It was eerie. There was nobody on the streets. We thought it was strange," Santos said.
Two other soldiers were killed by the blast. "It took both doors clean off," Santos said, and the Humvee flipped three times. "I remember a loud explosion, I remember flying and I remember laying on the ground," Santos said.
Santos lost his left leg near the hip and faced months of rehabilitation. Once he's recovered, Santos said, "I'll go to college," adding with a laugh, "Maybe I'll get a job at the White House."
---
© 2006, New York Daily News.

[Subby]

Where does it say he was an illegal?

[st.cronin]

He's probably not "illegal." Joining the military is one of the paths to citizenship here. At least one guy I served with joined up for that reason.

[Hurst2112]

if you are a foreigner (not the band, that would be too cool) and you join the US military, you should get a free pass into the country.

[hukarez]

Ahh...

I must've mis-interpreted the article then. I keep forgetting about it being a path to becoming a U.S. citizen -- ironic, since my father took the same route many years ago.

[Mustang]

Non-Citizens can join the military as long as you are in the country legally. Doesn't say anything about him being an illegal...

[Hurst2112]

logjam

i love that word

[RendeR]

Actually, most foreigners cannot join the US military without a very rare dispensation from the government. however, any citizen of a united states commonwealth (Puerto Rica, the Phillipines(not sure if they still are actually) etc etc, can freely enter the military. They are not citizens of the US but they enjoy the benefits of US military personnel and one huge topper: They pay NO taxes on their income.

[Hurst2112]

sorta on topic...

isn't there a rule that if you denounce your allegience to the US, you can have your citizenship taken away? maybe not that easy but I thought there was some old, written law like that.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by RendeR

Actually, most foreigners cannot join the US military without a very rare dispensation from the government. however, any citizen of a united states commonwealth (Puerto Rica, the Phillipines(not sure if they still are actually) etc etc, can freely enter the military. They are not citizens of the US but they enjoy the benefits of US military personnel and one huge topper: They pay NO taxes on their income.

But dispensation is given pretty regularly. I know there were several Canadians in basic with me. It wasn't hard for them to get in.

[SackAttack]

I have no problem with immigrants serving in the millitary, nor with them receiving citizenship for it.

Illegal or otherwise.

You put your life on the line for a country, you're doing more than most of the people born in that country ever will to serve it. You should be recognized as such.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Handy little tables from a longer article on the subject
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/...s/14633274.htm

• Noncitizens in the U.S. military
Navy - 14,859
Army - 11,965
Marine Corps - 7,699
Air Force - 2,217
Total - 36,740

• TOP 10 BIRTH COUNTRIES of enlisted non-U.S. citizens:
1. Mexico
2. Philippines
3. Jamaica
4. Dominican Republic
5. El Salvador
6. Haiti
7. Colombia
8. South Korea
9. Trinidad and Tobago
10. Peru

[Daimyo]

Originally Posted by Hurst2112

sorta on topic...

isn't there a rule that if you denounce your allegience to the US, you can have your citizenship taken away? maybe not that easy but I thought there was some old, written law like that.

Yes. If you offically renounce your citizenship or apply for citizenship of another country you will lose your US citizenship.

[Hurst2112]

Originally Posted by Daimyo

Yes. If you offically renounce your citizenship or apply for citizenship of another country you will lose your US citizenship.

what about dual citizenship?

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Hurst2112

what about dual citizenship?

That's an interesting question. I'm not sure. My father being Canadian, I was at one time eligible for dual citizenship with the U.S. and Canada; I'm not certain if I still am.

I think what it would boil down to is that those with biological ties to two countries are probably okay, but I don't know if a fully natural American citizen (two American parents) could be naturalized in another country and continue to hold his or her American citizenship.

[JPhillips]

In dealing with the adoption of my baby girl I understood that the US doesn't recognize dual citizenship, but many other countries do. So the US considers her a US citizen, but China considers her both a US and Chinese citizen. I don't know if that is entirely accurate, but that's what we were told.

[Hurst2112]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

In dealing with the adoption of my baby girl I understood that the US doesn't recognize dual citizenship, but many other countries do. So the US considers her a US citizen, but China considers her both a US and Chinese citizen. I don't know if that is entirely accurate, but that's what we were told.

hmm...so when we hear of a hockey player getting dual citizenship, it probably means that in the US' eyes, he's a US citizen but in Russia, he's a Russian and US citizen?

Strange but I guess it makes sense.

[Daimyo]

Originally Posted by Hurst2112

what about dual citizenship?

The key is if you take some action to apply for citizenship of another country. If another country recognizes you as a citizen of their country then that's okay. Some countries grant you citizenship automatically by marrying one of their citizens... that's okay too.

[Daimyo]

DOLA, there used to be a page on this topic at uscis.gov, but I can't find it now...

[Subby]

Simms is a dual citizen - and probably a traitor.

In any event, I bet he would have the answer.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Hurst2112

if you are a foreigner (not the band, that would be too cool) and you join the US military, you should get a free pass into the country.

You do.

That's why they join. We have recruiting stations all over the place, especially in Western Africa, where the first time these kids have ever been to the US is when they go to boot camp.

If you serve (insert number of years..probably equal to one enlistement of 3-5 years depending on the branch) you get to become a citizen. That's why lots of 'em do it.

But you can't be an officer if you're a non-citizen. And apparently, they have to have green cards, but I know people who didn't and still managed to get in. So..I dunno how they got in, but...apparently, it can be done.

[Jonathan Ezarik]

Originally Posted by Daimyo

The key is if you take some action to apply for citizenship of another country. If another country recognizes you as a citizen of their country then that's okay. Some countries grant you citizenship automatically by marrying one of their citizens... that's okay too.

Conditions under which US citizenship may be lost. These include:

• becoming a naturalized citizen of another country, or declaring allegiance to another country, after reaching age 18
• serving as an officer in a foreign country's military service, or serving in the armed forces of a country which is engaged in hostilities against the US
• working for a foreign government (e.g., in political office or as a civil servant)
• formally renouncing one's US citizenship before duly authorized US officials
• committing treason against, or attempting or conspiring to overthrow the government of, the US

Via http://www.richw.org/dualcit/law.html#LossCit

So there is nothing wrong with having citizenship in another country, you just can't become naturalized.

[Raiders Army]

I had a soldier who was from Mexico and he had to get out of the Army when he had served 5 years because he wasn't a citizen. It was one of those things that you couldn't serve beyond a certain point unless you became a citizen.