Military conscription of immigrants

DEFINITION: Actions by the US government to direct immigrants to perform military service 

SIGNIFICANCE: Efforts by the federal government at various periods in American history to conscript immigrants who had not yet been granted citizenship were met with mixed reaction among ethnic communities; while some groups resisted the draft in principle or protested against its being unfairly administered, many others welcomed the opportunity to serve and took advantage of provisions in the various draft laws that allowed them to become citizens more quickly. 

During the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Mexican War (1846-48), the US government filled the ranks of its fighting forces through voluntary enlistments. That practice was seen to be in keeping with the country’s professed belief in respecting individual liberties; the general feeling was that no person should be forced to serve the country, even in times of national distress. However, the outbreak of the US Civil War in 1861 changed the dimensions of military conflict in America, as the Union and the Confederacy instituted conscription to build up the massive armies required to carry on the war. Moreover, both governments decided that noncitizens and authorized immigrants who had declared their intention of becoming citizens should be eligible for conscription.  

Authorities reasoned that those who wished to enjoy the benefits of citizenship—even at a future date—were obligated to defend their adopted homeland in times of crisis. This practice was not common among European nations, however, and many European governments protested, claiming that their own citizens should not have to fight for another country until they became full-fledged citizens of that country. The requirement for mandatory military service was also not well received by many recently arrived immigrants, many of whom had come to America to escape similar practices in their home countries.

Civil War Protests

The Confederacy was the first of the Civil War combatants to establish a draft. Its 1862 law provided for many exemptions, however, and most noncitizens were able to avoid conscription even though the South relied heavily on conscripts to fill the ranks of its army. When the Union passed its first draft law one year later, in 1863, protests were mounted throughout the North almost immediately. New immigrants were especially suspicious of plans for conscription and many were certain that the poor would be drafted in greater numbers. Additionally, because most new immigrants were poor, that would mean they had a much greater chance of being inducted into the armed forces involuntarily. Their fears were fueled by two provisions in the Union law that favored those with greater financial means: Men who were drafted could either pay three-hundred-dollar bounties to the government to avoid service or hire substitutes to take their places.

Although protests were organized in several cities—the first one in Buffalo, New York, and later riots in Wisconsin—by far the most violent demonstration against the draft occurred in New York City in July, 1863, just days after officials began drawing names for conscription. The majority of the protesters were Irish immigrants, who suddenly discovered that their willingness to get involved in the political process by signing up to vote in local elections was being used against them by lawmakers responsible for draft legislation. Registering to vote was considered a sign of one’s intent to remain permanently in America, and those who had registered were automatically considered eligible for the draft.

Thousands of immigrants volunteered to join the Union’s Irish Brigade that was formed in New York, but many other Irish feared that if the North won the war, formerly enslaved people from Southern plantations would migrate north and compete for jobs typically done by Irishmen. That concern, coupled with the perception that the Irish and other immigrant groups would be overrepresented among draftees, sparked a violent outburst against city and state officials. Over a five-day period, mobs roamed the streets of New York City, looting business establishments and burning buildings, including the mayor’s home and several police stations. Damage to property was later estimated at one million dollars. The protesters’ anger quickly focused on African Americans living in the city; shootings and lynchings claimed more than a hundred lives. Local police units proved incapable of quelling the violence. In fact, the city’s police commissioner himself suffered serious injury in an assault. The governor of New York was forced to call back militia units that had been serving with the Union forces at the Battle of Gettysburg to put down the riots.

A retrospective look at the practice of conscription during the Civil War reveals two great ironies. First, records indicate that the percentage of resident aliens who were drafted during the conflict was no greater than that of citizens. Second, many of the substitutes hired by draftees were immigrants, who evidently found the payments a way to put aside some savings that would help secure their futures, should they make it through the war.

World War I

The first federal government draft was allowed to expire at the end of hostilities in 1865 and was not reinstated until 1917, when the United States entered World War I. After the United States entered war in April, 1917, the administration of President Woodrow Wilson determined that conscription would be necessary for the nation to assemble an expeditionary force to assist its European allies. This time, officials were careful to craft a draft law that corrected some of the inequities of the laws passed during the Civil War. Most authorized immigrants found the Selective Service Act of 1917 much more palatable than earlier mandates for service. The new law offered no provisions for hiring substitutes or paying bounties to avoid service. Additionally, local draft boards were established to examine each potential inductee, determine his fitness for service, and consider granting an exemption. Generally, exemptions were granted on the basis of occupation or health. When authorized immigrants and noncitizens asked for exemptions by citing their citizenship in other countries, they were told that accepting exemptions would make them ineligible for future US citizenship. In general, most immigrants felt that the process was fair.

Nevertheless, as had occurred during the Civil War, pockets of resistance sprang up in various ethnic communities. Some activists attempted to convince immigrant groups, particularly Italians and Jews, to resist conscription because the war was being waged merely to further international or national business interests at the expense of the working poor. The Irish were especially skeptical because the United States was entering the conflict on the side of Great Britain, whose government was at that time resisting the movement for Irish independence.

A ploy used to turn European immigrants against conscription was the claim that the draft displayed a dangerous tendency toward “Prussianization”—a reference to the militaristic German regime that many Americans blamed for having started the war. In general, however, immigrants drafted during World War I reported for duty without demur. Moreover, many did not wait to be called but instead chose to enlist. They often did this in units organized locally along ethnic lines, allowing young men to serve alongside others with whom they shared a common heritage. At the same time, however, draftees were typically assigned to units in which men of various ethnic and socioeconomic classes served side by side; this practice actually proved beneficial to many immigrants, because it provided them experiences that allowed them to assimilate more quickly into mainstream American society.

World War II

The Selective Service Act of 1940 was virtually identical to that of 1917, but perhaps because America’s enemies in World War II (1939-1945) were perceived as particularly threatening, virtually no protests were raised to drafting noncitizens. Any hesitancy about the draft that existed among immigrant groups during World War I virtually evaporated by the time the United States reinstituted conscription on the eve of its entrance into the new world war in late 1941. Immigrants of virtually every nationality perceived the Axis powers of Japan, Germany, and Italy as threats to liberty for their adopted country and their native homelands.

Xenophobic feelings that had caused some German Americans to suffer discrimination during World War I were virtually absent. Although many Japanese Americans were interned throughout the war—ostensibly to prevent espionage—thousands of their young served honorably in the US Armed Forces, including many who were drafted. As had happened twenty-five years earlier, the experience of serving with a variety of individuals of different backgrounds from other parts of the country allowed immigrants who had been drafted to assimilate more rapidly into the mainstream of American society. One immigrant group that benefited notably from this opportunity for assimilation was Mexican Americans.

Post-World War Conscription

Although the Selective Service Act of 1940 expired in 1947, a new act was passed a year later, and immigrants once again found themselves subject to conscription as the United States built up its armed forces as a defensive measure against the threat of communism. Because the new law continued the provision that resident aliens were eligible to be drafted, immigrants were called up for service in the Korean War (1950-53) as well.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the newest wave of immigrants from Europe, many from Germany and Eastern European countries, found themselves subject to the draft. Some chose to enlist in the National Guard or military reserves to guarantee they would be able to fulfill the bulk of their six-year military obligation near family members who may have come to America with them. Noncitizens were also subject to conscription during the Vietnam War. Most served willingly, and those who protested their induction usually did so because they had scruples about the war itself, not because they felt they were being discriminated against because they were not yet citizens.

Conscription and Citizenship

Although federal penalties for resisting the draft have often been harsh, many immigrants found that being conscripted into the military has provided significant benefits as well. Since the American Revolution, aliens who agreed to take up arms for the United States have been allowed to accelerate their journey toward becoming American citizens. Routinely, immigrants applying for citizenship could point to their honorable service as sufficient proof of good moral character, one of the requirements for naturalization.

After World War I, noncitizens who served in the military, including those drafted during peacetime, were granted waivers of several years on the time required for residence in the United States before being eligible to apply for citizenship. This practice was continued even after the United States did away with the draft during the 1970s. In fact, after 2001, several proposals were put forward in Congress to provide a mechanism for granting citizenship to immigrants—including those who entered the country unauthorized—who chose to enlist in the armed forces.

The United States ended conscription for the Vietnam War in early 1973. In the half-century that followed, it did not turn to conscription to fill its ranks, despite many major military operations in the following decades. These included wars in Iraq (1991; 2003-11) and Afghanistan (2001-21). The United States turned to an All-Volunteer Force (AVF) where economic incentives contributed to recruitment efforts such as higher pay, better living quarters, and educational benefits. For immigrants, these economic benefits were lucrative. Not only was military pay substantially higher than in their countries of origin, it was competitive to civilian employers, and came with technical training in a marketable skill. Family members obtained quality housing and immediately were members of a service community that included many from their homelands. In addition, military service continued to be a fast-track to citizenship. The two-decade long wars in the Middle East created an increased need for personnel, yet conscription did not prove a necessity.

In the mid-2020s, labor shortages that originated with the COVID-19 pandemic forced civilian salaries upward. With greater financial compensation available in the civilian job market, the US Armed Forces found it difficult to meet recruiting quotas. The US military, once again, turned to its immigrant population. In October 2023, the US Army re-initiated a process where legal permanent residents who enlisted would receive accelerated naturalization. According to Department of Defense data, approximately 5,000 noncitizens serve on active duty at any given time, representing about 3 to 4 percent of annual recruits. USCIS reports that more than 148,000 service members have naturalized through military service since 2002.

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