“I pledge Allegiance…” Celebrating uniformed service and citizenship Since the Revolutionary War, legal permanent residents are eligible to enlist in the military. There are approximately 35,000 non-citizens serving on activeduty and about 8,000 who join each year. As a country founded by immigrants hundreds of years ago, thousands flock to the U.S. today seeking political freedom and the opportunity to achieve their goals. America remains a land of opportunities, and because many foreigners from all over the world come to live in the U.S., cultural diversity is cited as one of the country's strengths. The dream of being a U.S. citizen is expedited for military members and at no-cost. Military members like Claudia LaManita, who served as a U.S. Marine from 1987 to 2007 and retired as a gunnery sergeant (E-7)—became a naturalized citizen while serving on active duty.
By Amy Forsythe
LaMantia was born in Guatemala and was brought to the U.S. by her father in 1975. Her dad was studying at Tulane University under a medical visa and returned to Guatemala to get her and two other siblings to flee from the civil war and unrest there. They traveled through Mexico City, then Mazatlán, and eventually crossed the border at Tijuana, near San Diego, before making their way to Los Angeles where LaMantia and her siblings lived with their grandmother and other family members through her teenage years. When President Reagan came into office, many programs were cut and her father lost his visa and they stayed in the U.S. illegally. “My father, step-mother, sister and myself all got jobs at McDonalds and that’s how we got through high school years. I got my green card when I married my first husband.”
FreedomSisters Magazine
