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Houston Chronicle
July 5, 2002, 11:59PM
Hispanics praise new citizenship policy for military
Offer of immediate eligibility hailed as a 'show of good will'
By EDWARD HEGSTROM
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle
Hispanics, who have a long history in the U.S. military and could be a crucial part of its future, welcomed President Bush's decision to make it easier for immigrant soldiers to become citizens.
In a July Fourth speech to troops in West Virginia, Bush announced that he had signed an executive order making it immediately possible for 15,000 soldiers to become citizens. All of those who qualify are already legal permanent residents.
"I think it's a good idea," said Leonel Castillo, former director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service who now serves as adviser to Houston Mayor Lee Brown. "These are people who have demonstrated their loyalty."
Nelson Reyes, head of the Central American Refugee Center, an immigrant group that helps immigrants living in southwest Houston, called Bush's move a "show of good will," but he called on the president to go further by helping those immigrants who can't get into the military. By the time they qualify to enlist in the Army, immigrants have already overcome their most difficult legal hurdles.
Foreigners are allowed in the armed forces if they have obtained a Green Card granting legal permanent residency. It's the Green Card, rather than citizenship, that generally is the most difficult to obtain.
Hispanics take pride in their history of serving in the military.
"We have adopted this as our land, and we are ready to defend it," Reyes said.
A total of 40 Hispanics have won the Medal of Honor.
While most of the Hispanic war heroes were U.S. citizens, a few were not. Alfred Rascon, an Army medic in the Vietnam war, was still a Mexican citizen when he saved fellow soldiers in an act of bravery that later won him the Medal of Honor.
A total of 31,000 foreign citizens currently serve in the U.S. military.
Despite their history in the military, Hispanics represent less than 10 percent of the soldiers in the U.S. Army today.
"We know that Hispanics are underrepresented in the Army relative to their share of the U.S. population," Lt. Gen. John M. Le Moyne said in testimony before Congress earlier this year.
He said the Army has begun reaching out to immigrants through initiatives such as a new pilot program that allows Spanish-speaking recruits to attend intensive English courses before joining other soldiers in basic training.
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