Why Trump Should Embrace America's Immigrant Soldiers

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https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/07/why-trump-should-embrace-americas-immigrant-soldiers/532539/

Why Trump Should Embrace America's Immigrant Soldiers

Immigrants have been part of the armed forces since the Revolutionary War. The administration is considering ending a program that grants some of them citizenship in exchange for their service.

Patrick Granfield
Jul 4, 2017


The men who declared American independence 241 years ago today were largely landowners and merchants, already well established in society. Not so, however, for many of the soldiers who helped secure that independence over the course of the Revolutionary War.

From the nation’s very first days, some of its finest soldiers have been immigrants and, yes, even foreigners. As President Trump and his team celebrate their first Fourth of July in office—and as they continue shaping their immigration policies—they would do well to reflect on this tradition and its importance to the United States’ security.

In fact, America may never have won its independence if not for soldiers like Polish-born Casimir Pulaski, who brought the insights of a European cavalry officer to the Continental Army; or Prussian-born Friedrich von Steuben, who drilled General George Washington’s forces at Valley Forge; or even John Fitzgerald, who served as Washington’s aide-de-camp over that cold winter, having arrived in the colonies only seven years earlier from Ireland.

Millions of immigrant soldiers would follow in their footsteps. They include 100,000 U.S. troops who arrived in Europe a century ago to fight the First World War, immigrants who did not become citizens until their naturalization after a victorious return. And they include more than 100,000 men and women from this century who have earned their citizenship through military service since the September 11 attacks.

With U.S. troops now serving in more than 140 locations worldwide, the skills and experiences immigrants bring to the military have become all the more vital to national security. Today, soldiers are often asked to not only take and hold terrain, but also to bring together tribes and factions who share difficult ethnic and religious histories.

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No, the military is not meant to be a refuge for political correctness or a laboratory for social experimentation, a criticism Trump leveled as a candidate. But allowing immigrants to serve in return for citizenship is not a social experiment. It is a tradition that has been vital to the success of the American experiment and to the security of all Americans, whether immigrants or native-born.