What is the Green Card Draft?
There are 37,000 non-citizen, green card holders in the military. A major incentive for them to join is that they receive a shortcut to citizenship. Citing the war on terrorism, Bush issued an order permitting green card holders who are on active duty to immediately apply for citizenship, waiving the usual three-year waiting time. The government also created a team to quickly process citizenship applications from the military. Such requests have since quadrupled, from about 300 a month to more than 1,300 a month. California produces the lion’s share of these enlistees. Half of the first 10 Californians killed in the War on Iraq were not citizens. Critics say the government is playing off the desire for citizenship to exploit these mostly poor immigrants – from Latin America, Asia and the Caribbean – for the war effort. “Especially at a time when the doors for citizenship are closing, this may be one of few routes left,” said Connie Rice, a civil rights attorney. “It’s a tough but well-
