Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Dying American or The Violence of Citizenship: Latinos in Iraq

  • Article
  • Published:
Latino Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Three of the first coalition soldiers to die in Iraq in 2003 were non-citizen Latinos who were given posthumous citizenship. This essay places the discursive contexts of the events against the backdrop of liberalism. The central argument is that giving posthumous citizenship to the soldiers was an illiberal practice because (1) it meant naturalizing the Latinos without their consent and (2) the debates obscured the illiberal ways in which the armed forces in America are staffed. These two illiberal elements were supported by ethnocentric discourses on citizenship and nationalism that assumed the soldiers desired naturalization and that reproduced the idea that the volunteer army equally targets all Americans as potential conscripts. Because of this, the honor of posthumous citizenship is reinterpreted as belonging to the American history of imperialism, class, and racial stratification.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. As it is, 8 USC Sec. 1440-1 grants a very limited version of citizenship that prohibits granting any benefits to survivors and limits filing privileges to next of kin.

  2. This bill became an act on June 16, 2003.

  3. See, for instance, Latino Studies, Vol. 2, 2004, a full two issues dedicated to citizenship. See also Flores and Benmayor (1997).

  4. See, for instance, Rodriguez (2000) and Gutiérrez (1999, pair 10). On how the civilizing efforts of Anglos began to constitute language policies in the Southwest, see Anderson (2002, 317–320).

  5. For an overview of Latino communities' efforts to address educational inequality, see Meier and Stewart (1991, chapters 2 and 3).

  6. See notes 2 and 3. In more contemporary issues, see how deportation constitutes a way of legally reducing Latinos to commodities (De Genova, 2002).

  7. For a compelling discussion on the different types of liberalisms and their relationships to citizenship, see Kymlicka (1989).

  8. See H.R. 1691's Senate counterpart at S 783 ES.

  9. For a very practical take on the matter, see the US Citizens and Immigration Services website. In the section, titled “Office of Citizenship,” the institution defines one of its roles as the training of legal residents on citizenship requirements. The goal is outlined as follows: “Reviving and emphasizing the common civic identity and shared values that are essential to citizenship.” “Office of Citizenship, in US Citizenship and Immigration Services, February 7, 2004, 〈http://uscis.gov/graphics/citizenship/index.htm〉 (February 10, 2004).

  10. Retrieved April 10, 2005 〈http://uscis.gov/graphics/citizenship/;index.htm〉.

  11. For a look at the evolution of these ideals, see Peter H. Schuck (1998, 12–81).

  12. It is important to emphasize that the phrasing of this bill is common among these type of legislation. For instance, H.R. 150, which became public law in March 7, 1990, amended the Immigration and Nationality Act with similar goals in mind although it also included provisions to grant citizenship to aliens (8 USC Sec. 1440-1). The term alien may refer also to non-legal residents or non-residents of the United States. The term legal non-citizen, which was used in the 2003 bills, refers only to green-card holders. As it is written, the bill stipulated that according to the State, an alien who died while “serving on active duty with the US Armed Forces during certain periods of hostilities to be considered a citizen of the United States at the time of the alien's death” (Posthumous, 1989).

  13. See the speech by the Honorable Walter B. Jones of North Carolina in the House of Representatives on April 11, 2003. In this speech, Jones introduces the Fallen Heroes Immigrant Spouse Act, which aimed at extending rights to spouses of the fallen soldiers. See also the congressional record of the discussions on The Armed Forces Naturalization Act of 2003 (discussion that took place on the House on June 4, 2003). Retrieved April 14, 2004 〈http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r108:5:./temp/~r108FJe82d:e64882〉.

  14. I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God. Retrieved December 9, 2005 〈http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/citizenship/blcitizen-4.htm〉.

  15. For some biographical information on the three soldiers, see Fallen Heroes of Operation Iraqi Freedom, a website memorial to the soldiers fallen in combat. URL: http://www.fallenheroesmemorial.com/oif/ Retrieved February 10, 2004. For Diego Rincon, see his memorial site at http://www.diegorincon.com/

  16. Interview by the author with Fernando Suárez del Solar, father of the victim on September 2005, at Austin Texas. The family migrated from Tijuana, Mexico, in 1997.

  17. See note 16.

  18. My position is the following: posthumous citizenship should be avoided in all cases incurring non-citizens killed in combat. However, Congress should pass immigration law that would allow the families of the deceased soldiers to acquire the benefits of citizenship if so desired.

  19. For a discussion on how more recent drafting practices are illiberal and have affected Latinos, see Jorge Mariscal (1999).

  20. For instance, Texas Rep. Jackson-Lee emphatically declared during the discussion of the bill: “this Nation continues to be a Nation built upon immigrants and their desire to be part of this great democracy.” She also refers to Martha Espinosa, one of José Gutiérrez's foster parents, who stated that Gutiérrez once told her, “I was born the day I arrived in this county.” Washington Representative Hastings also declared: “Mr. Speaker, these patriotic men and women have willingly volunteered to carry out one of the most solemn duties any nation can ask of its citizens, the defense of freedom. In doing so, I believe that they have truly earned the opportunity to become citizens of the country that they serve to protect. … As my colleagues know, some of our troops who died in Iraq wearing the uniform of the United States gave their lives before they were truly entitled to call themselves Americans.” Both sets of statements are part of the House of Representative discussion, on June 4, 2003, regarding The Armed Forces Naturalization Act of 2003.

  21. Notable exceptions include journalists like Conde (2003), Halbfinger and Holmes (2003), Zook (2003), and Seaton et al. (2003).

  22. The idea of the “citizen-soldier” as a political category of governance linked to idealized forms of citizenship is well documented. See Chambers II (1987) and Cress (1982). For scholarship dealing with contemporary issues, including the issue of recruitment, see Moskos (2002) and Snyder (2003).

  23. See also the publications in The Project on Youth and Non-Military Operations, YANO, directed by Jorge Mariscal 〈http://www.projectyano.org/〉.

References

  • Act S. 783, 108th Cong., 1st sess. (April 10, 2003).

  • Anderson, Douglas F . 2002. Protestantism, Progress, and Prosperity: John P. Clum and “Civilizing” the U.S. Southwest, 1871–1886. The Western Historical Quarterly 33 (3): 313–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Associated Press, Bloomberg, at Funeral, Praises Marine Sergeant. 2003. The Record. Bergen County, NJ, April 22.

  • Bhabha, Jacqueline . 2003. The Citizenship Deficit: On Being a Citizen Child. Development 46 (3): 53–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braudy, Leo . 2003. From Chivalry to Terrorism: War and the Changing Nature of Masculinity. New York: Alfred Knopff.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castronovo, Russ . 2001. Necro Citizenship: Death, Eroticism, and the Public Sphere in the Nineteenth-Century United States. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers II, John W . 1987. To Raise an Army: The Draft Comes to Modern America. New York: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chu, Louise . 2003. Mourners Remember Colombian Born Soldier Killed in Iraq. The Associated Press. Conyers, GA, April 10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conde, David . 2003. Counting Living, Dead Latinos as War Ends. La Voz. Denver, CO April 23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crawley, James . 2003. Navy Hopes TV Ad Attracts Black Enlistees; Spot Touts Skills to Use in Civilian Life. San Diego Union-Tribune, August 3.

  • Cress, Lawrence . 1982. Citizens in Arms: The Army and the Militia in American Society to the War of 1812. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Genova, Nicholas . 2002. Migrant “Illegality” and Deportability in Everyday Life. Annual Review of Anthropology 31: 419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Defense Manpower Data Center. May 2002. Department of Defense.

  • Fagan, Amy . 2003. Bills Link Service, Citizenship; Aim is to Speed Process for Green-Card Holders in Military. The Washington Times, April 11.

  • Fairness for America's Heroes Act of 2003. 2003. 108th Cong., 1st sess., H.R. 1850 (April 29, 2003).

  • Ferriss, Susan . 2003. War in the Gulf: Mexico Misinformation: Seeking Visa. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 29.

  • Flores, William V. and Rina Benmayor, eds. 1997. Latino Cultural Citizenship: Claiming Identity, Space and Rights. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford, Nancy G.Winter . 1997. “Mindful of the Traditions of his Race.” Dual Identity and Foreign-Born Soldiers in the First World War American Army. Journal of American Ethnic History 16 (2): 35–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gamboa, Suzanne . 2003. House Approves Measure to Provide Expedited Citizenship for Non-Citizens in Military. The Associated Press State & Local Wire. Washington, DC, November 7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glenn, Evelyn Nakano . 2002. Unequal Freedom: How Race and Gender Shaped American Citizenship and Labor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein, Amy and Sylvia Moreno . 2003. For Immigrants, a Special Sacrifice: War Takes Toll on Foreign-Born in Armed Forces. The New York Times, April 7.

  • Gutiérrez, DG . 1999. Migration, Emergent Ethnicity, and the Third Space: The Shifting Politics of Nationalism in Greater Mexico. The Journal of American History 86 (2): 67 pars. Retrieved December 8 2005 〈http://www.historycooperative.org.content.lib.utexas.edu:2048/journals/jah/86.2/gutierrez.html〉.

    Google Scholar 

  • H.R. 1691, 108th Cong., 1st sess. (April 9, 2003).

  • H.R. 1954 EH, 108th Cong., 1st sess. (June 16, 2003).

  • Halbfinger, David and Steven Holmes . 2003. A Nation at War: The Troops; Military Mirrors a Working Class America. The New York Times, March 30.

  • Harmon, M.D . 2003. The US Flags are Coming Back Out – This Time to Stay?; A Lot of Young Folks are Teaching us Something Vital Every Night on the News. Portland Press Herald (Maine), April 7.

  • Harvard Law Review Note. April 1989. The Disenfranchisement of Ex-Felons: Citizenship, Criminality, and “The Purity of the Ballot Box.” Harvard Law Review 102 (6): 1300–1318.

  • Hattiangadi, Anita U., Gary Lee and Aline Quester . 2004. Recruiting Hispanics: The Marine Corps Experience Final Report. Alexandria, Virginia: CNA Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoover, Donald . 2004. The Virgin Islands Under American Rule. Foreign Affairs 4 (3): 503–506. April 26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Immigrant Soldiers. 2003. America's Defenders Deserve Citizenship. San Diego Union-Tribune, April 8.

  • Isin, Engin F. and Patricia Wood . 1999. Citizenship and Identity. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, Desmond . 2000. Making Americans: Immigration, Race, and the Origins of the Diverse Democracy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kong, Deborah . 2003. Casualty Lists Highlight Thousands of Non-Citizens Serving in the Military. The Associated Press State & Local Wire. Valy City, CA April 3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kymlicka, Will . 1989. Liberalism, Community and Culture. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kymlicka, Will . 1995. Multicultural Citizenship: a Liberal Theory of Minority Rights. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leyva Martinez, Ivette . 2003. US Hispanics See Army as Route to American Dream. Hispanic Market, December 10. Retrieved August 2, 2004 〈http://www.hispanicmarket.net/archives/000168.html〉.

  • Lopez, David A . 1998. Saving Private Aztlan: Preserving The History of Latino Service In Wartime. Unpublished paper, 1998: 1. Author's files.

  • Lovato, Roberto . 2005. The War for Latinos. The Nation, October 3. Retrieved December 11, 2005 〈http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051003/lovato〉.

  • Malavet, Pedro A . Fall 2002. Reparations Theory and Postcolonial PuertoRico: Some Preliminary Thoughts. Berkeley La Raza Law Journal 13 (2): 387–424.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mariscal, George . 1999. Aztlan and Viet Nam: Chicano and Chicana Experiences of the War. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, T.H . 1973. Citizenship and Social Class. In Class, Citizenship and Social Developments, ed. T.H. Marshall Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martínez, Guillermo . 2003. Equal Rights for Latino Heroes: US Citizenship Benefits Should Extend to Families. Hispanic, May pp 76.

  • McMurray, Jeffrey . 2003. Georgia Soldier's Story Inspires Law Granting Posthumous Citizenship. The Associated Press State & Local Wire. Washington, DC November 12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meier, Kenneth J. and Joseph Stewart . 1991. The Politics of Hispanic Education: Un Paso Pa'lante y dos Pa'tras. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, Toby . 1993. The Well Tempered Self: Citizenship, Culture, and the Postmodern Subject. London, UK: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moniz, Dave . 1999. Thinning Military Must Learn to Recruit in Espanol. Christian Science Monitor 91 (176): 2c, 6 August.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montejano, David . 1987. Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, 1836–1986. Austin: University of Texas Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moskos, Charles . 2002. Reviving the Citizen-Soldier. Public Interest 147 (Spring): 76–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ngai, Mae M . 1999. The Architecture of Race in American Immigration Law: A Reexamination of the Immigration Act of 1924. The Journal of American History 86 (1): 67–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nieto-Phillips, John . 1999. Citizenship and Empire: Race, Language, and Self-Government in New Mexico and Puerto Rico, 1898, 1917. Centro Journal 11 (1): 70–105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palaima, Thomas G . 2004. Military Recruiters Know Their Targets Well. Austin American Statesman, December 15.

  • Posthumous Citizenship for Active Duty Service Act of 1989. 1989. 101th Cong., 1st sess., H.R. 150 (January 3, 1989), P. L. 101-249.

  • Riayan Tejeda Memorial Act of 2003. 2003. 108th Cong., 1st sess., H.R. 2887 (July 24, 2003).

  • Rocco, Raymond . 2004. Transforming Citizenship: Membership, Strategies of Containment, and the Public Sphere in Latino Communities. Latino Studies 2: 4–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez, Monica R . 2000. Mexicanas and Mongrels: Policies of Hybridity, Gender and Nation in the US–Mexican War. Latino Studies Journal 11 (3): 49–73.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, Deborah A . 2001. Acoma v. Laguna and the Transition from Spanish Colonial Law to American Civil Procedure in New Mexico. Law and History Review 19 (3): 89 pars. Retrieved December 9 2005 〈http://www.historycooperative.org.content.lib.utexas.edu:2048/journals/lhr/19.3/rosen.html〉.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sackett, Paul R. and Anne S Mavor . 2004. Evaluating Military Advertising and Recruiting: Theory and Methodology. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schuck, Peter H . 1998. Citizens, Strangers, and In-Betweens: Essays on Immigration and Citizenship. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seaton, David, Sharyn Obsatz and Gay McCarthy . 2003. Latino Toll Reflects Risk Duties Bring. Press Enterprise. Riverside, CA April 8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seeley, John . 2004. Operation Opt Out: As Military Recruiters Work the High Schools, Teachers and Students Urge a Reality Check. L.A. City Beat 71, October, 24. Retrieved December 7, 2005 〈http://www.lacitybeat.com〉.

  • Silvestrini, Blanca . 1997. “The World We Enter When Claiming Rights”: Latinos and Their Quest for Culture. In Latino Cultural Citizenship: Claiming Identity, Space and Rights, eds. William Flores and Rina Benmayor. Boston: Beacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, Claire . 2003. The Citizen-Soldier Tradition and Gender Integration of the U.S. Military. Armed Forces and Society 29 (2): 185–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tienda, Marta . 2002. Demography and the Social Contract. Demography 39 (4): 587–616.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Washington Heights Family Mourns Marine. 2003. The Associated Press. New York, NY April 14.

  • Winant, Howard . 2004. The New Politics of Race: Globalism, Difference, Justice. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zinn, Howard . 2003. A People's History of the United States, 1492–Present. New York: Perennial Classics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zook, Kristal B . 2003. Neglecting Women of Color in Combat. San Diego Union-Tribune. San Diego, CA July 3.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Southwestern University, Georgetown, TX

    Hector Amaya

Authors
  1. Hector Amaya
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Amaya, H. Dying American or The Violence of Citizenship: Latinos in Iraq. Lat Stud 5, 3–24 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.lst.8600240

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.lst.8600240

Keywords

Search

Navigation