Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Los Angeles Times
April 15, 2008 A special Pentagon ceremony honors the 22 new citizens. Almost 37,000 service members have been naturalized since September 2001.
By James Hohmann, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — Christina Lucatero Diaz, born in Mexico, wants to become an officer in the U.S. Navy.
But by law, officers must be U.S. citizens, so she was ineligible -- until Monday.
When she was 6, her family crossed the border in search of a better life, settling in Riverside. But after almost 20 years in the United States, four years rising in the enlisted ranks of the Navy, a year of paperwork and a special Pentagon ceremony, Diaz is closer to her goal.
More than 30,000 noncitizens are serving in the U.S. armed forces. Twenty-two of them -- most in their dress uniforms -- became citizens Monday. On a sunny spring afternoon, the natives of 15 countries raised their right hands and took the Oath of Allegiance to the United States.
"It speaks volumes about America when people are willing to take up arms to defend her, yet they cannot even vote here," said Emilio Gonzalez, director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, himself an Army veteran and immigrant.
For many, military service is the surest path to citizenship. Within months of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, President Bush issued an executive order expediting citizenship to foreign-born military personnel on active duty. Almost 37,000 have been naturalized since September 2001.
"It's definitely going to open a lot of doors for me," said Lucatero, a petty officer third class who works at a Pentagon laboratory.
Military naturalization ceremonies are not new. During World War II, more than 20,000 service members were naturalized overseas. The number was close to 8,000 during the Korean War. Without a draft to conscript troops, and with extended deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military needs as many recruits as it can get -- making noncitizens who are eager to enlist especially valuable.
"We are indeed a greater country, stronger country, a better country today because of you," said Air Force Maj. Gen. James W. Graves, whose wife became a citizen a decade ago.
Ensign Olufolahannmi Ayoola Omatayo Coker came from Nigeria in 2003. He was living in North Carolina when an acquaintance told him about the benefits of joining the Navy Reserve.
The 35-year-old, who now lives in Maryland with his wife, Rebecca, and two children, was ecstatic after the citizenship ceremony, clutching his certificate tightly. He couldn't wait to get home, he said, and show it to his sons. One was with a baby-sitter for the afternoon, and the other was in school -- his dad didn't want to pull him out of class because he wants him to get the most out of his education.
"I'm going to show my son that I've become a citizen like him," Coker said proudly. "They wonder why Daddy doesn't have a blue passport like them. Well, now I will."
Coker said he wants to become a police officer, but departments require recruits to be citizens. "This is a bridge over the river," he said. He expects to be deployed overseas soon, but plans to go into law enforcement after returning.
Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England congratulated the new citizens, thanked them for shouldering America's defense and said their new rights come "with strings attached" -- responsibilities and duties to look out for their adopted country.
"What is altogether remarkable about the people here today," he said, is that they volunteered to serve "in a most demanding occupation and during one of the most demanding periods in the nation's recent history."
Pvt. Juan Delamaza left Mexico City at 16 to work odd jobs in Stockton. Last year, after moving to the Washington area, he joined the Army Reserve. Now, at 33, he's a U.S. citizen.
"It feels almost as good as being a soldier," he said.
About 200 friends, family members and comrades watched the ceremony, some waving miniature American flags.
Oneida Bastidas watched her 21-year-old son, Marine Lance Cpl. Luis Bastidas, take the oath and transform from a Colombian into an American.
"I worked 20 years in this country," she said, pointing at her son. "This is my accomplishment."
April 15, 2008 A special Pentagon ceremony honors the 22 new citizens. Almost 37,000 service members have been naturalized since September 2001.
By James Hohmann, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — Christina Lucatero Diaz, born in Mexico, wants to become an officer in the U.S. Navy.
But by law, officers must be U.S. citizens, so she was ineligible -- until Monday.
When she was 6, her family crossed the border in search of a better life, settling in Riverside. But after almost 20 years in the United States, four years rising in the enlisted ranks of the Navy, a year of paperwork and a special Pentagon ceremony, Diaz is closer to her goal.
More than 30,000 noncitizens are serving in the U.S. armed forces. Twenty-two of them -- most in their dress uniforms -- became citizens Monday. On a sunny spring afternoon, the natives of 15 countries raised their right hands and took the Oath of Allegiance to the United States.
"It speaks volumes about America when people are willing to take up arms to defend her, yet they cannot even vote here," said Emilio Gonzalez, director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, himself an Army veteran and immigrant.
For many, military service is the surest path to citizenship. Within months of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, President Bush issued an executive order expediting citizenship to foreign-born military personnel on active duty. Almost 37,000 have been naturalized since September 2001.
"It's definitely going to open a lot of doors for me," said Lucatero, a petty officer third class who works at a Pentagon laboratory.
Military naturalization ceremonies are not new. During World War II, more than 20,000 service members were naturalized overseas. The number was close to 8,000 during the Korean War. Without a draft to conscript troops, and with extended deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military needs as many recruits as it can get -- making noncitizens who are eager to enlist especially valuable.
"We are indeed a greater country, stronger country, a better country today because of you," said Air Force Maj. Gen. James W. Graves, whose wife became a citizen a decade ago.
Ensign Olufolahannmi Ayoola Omatayo Coker came from Nigeria in 2003. He was living in North Carolina when an acquaintance told him about the benefits of joining the Navy Reserve.
The 35-year-old, who now lives in Maryland with his wife, Rebecca, and two children, was ecstatic after the citizenship ceremony, clutching his certificate tightly. He couldn't wait to get home, he said, and show it to his sons. One was with a baby-sitter for the afternoon, and the other was in school -- his dad didn't want to pull him out of class because he wants him to get the most out of his education.
"I'm going to show my son that I've become a citizen like him," Coker said proudly. "They wonder why Daddy doesn't have a blue passport like them. Well, now I will."
Coker said he wants to become a police officer, but departments require recruits to be citizens. "This is a bridge over the river," he said. He expects to be deployed overseas soon, but plans to go into law enforcement after returning.
Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England congratulated the new citizens, thanked them for shouldering America's defense and said their new rights come "with strings attached" -- responsibilities and duties to look out for their adopted country.
"What is altogether remarkable about the people here today," he said, is that they volunteered to serve "in a most demanding occupation and during one of the most demanding periods in the nation's recent history."
Pvt. Juan Delamaza left Mexico City at 16 to work odd jobs in Stockton. Last year, after moving to the Washington area, he joined the Army Reserve. Now, at 33, he's a U.S. citizen.
"It feels almost as good as being a soldier," he said.
About 200 friends, family members and comrades watched the ceremony, some waving miniature American flags.
Oneida Bastidas watched her 21-year-old son, Marine Lance Cpl. Luis Bastidas, take the oath and transform from a Colombian into an American.
"I worked 20 years in this country," she said, pointing at her son. "This is my accomplishment."