The military gates to US citizenship: Latina/o “aliens and non-citizen nationals” and military work

Abstract

This article examines the formation of a contemporary US federal statute (8 U.S.C. §1440) that allows the granting of citizenship to non-citizens in military active duty, including migrants who did not adhere to terms of their visas, or entered the United States without formal authorization. While the actual language of the statute dates back to 1952, its origins are in the Civil War. It is a de facto form of amnesty but one that is generally excluded in contemporary debates about comprehensive immigration reform, DREAM Act proposals, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents. The essay contextualizes the statute within the long-standing and widespread forms of amnesty deployed in the United States, and explores the political process of inclusion through exclusion.