2005年NPR美国国家公共电台四月-Immigrant Soldiers Fighting in the U.S. M

（单词翻译）

There are some 30,000 immigrants serving in the US military who are not US citizens. Even as overall recruiting numbers slip , non-citizen recruits have remained a steady source of new enlistees. From member station KQED, Sasha Khokha spoke¹ with immigrant families in Fresno California about why their children join.

22-year-old LL is paging through a photo album.

That's a picture of me at airport. That's our,that's our first day in United States right here.

It's a snapshot of a wide-eyed 10-year-old boy, recently arrived from Hmong refugee camp in Thailand. And on the same page, another photo of L a decade later standing² confident dressed in army fatigues³.

And this is one of the a Palace, Saddam Hussein's Palace, just the one had a big statue. It's on the news caught on fire, everything...

L returned last July from six months in Iraq as a gunner for the army. He enlisted⁴ his senior year in high school. L didn't tell his parents. He knew his mother J Y would be devastated⁵.

I was worried beyond being worried. I kept thinking of my son were a needle or a thread I could hide him in my palm or my shirts so no one could see him, and could take him away from me.

But for her son L, joining the army boosted his pride he says. It also brought him closer to his dream of becoming a police officer by giving him training and expediting his US citizenship⁶. A new rule since 9/11 allows soldiers with green cards to be eligible⁷ for citizenship immediately.

The Arms Services have actively⁸ promoted recruiting in Latino communities like here in Fresno, California's 2nd poorest county. At this recruitment center, applicants⁹ can be offered signing bonuses and tuition help as much as 70,000 dollars.

Congratulation man!
Thanks.
Yeah, it's alright. Would your mom and dad know?
I haven't yet told them.
He's 18. He still has to talk to them to let them know.
I've already told them, so it doesn't matter if they say no or not. I'm gonna do it anyways..
Ok.I just wanna, I always wanna ask you because, you know, they're gonna support you regardless...

Like many recruiters, sergeant¹⁰ R L says one of the biggest obstacles is convincing immigrant parents to let their kids sign up.

When we have an appointment, especially if mom and dad doesn't speak well English, we try to bring somebody that's been in the army to speak fluent Spanish, and that way they feel better. At least they see somebody that's been through it.

However not all immigrant parents respond positively¹¹. H K was infuriated when Spanish-speaking recruiters came to his house.

They sell them a shiny panorama¹². They promise them the earth and the sky. And what they end up with are bombs and bullets in their bodies. They end up in a coffin¹³.

K became so angry when his son enlisted that he told him not to return to the family's home after boot camp. Father and son are now estranged¹⁴ because of their differences over the war in Iraq. K remains¹⁵ convinced that Latino communities are disproportionately targeted for military service.

UC San Diego professor H M while a critic of what he calls "False Advertising¹⁶" by the military says "Latinos are not disproportionately targeted."

What happens is recruitment is much more powerful in communities with limited opportunities, so that means these kids don't have a lot of other options. So when it finally plays out because Latinos are the largest demographic group of military-age young people and will be for well into the next century. It looks as if Latinos have been disproportionately recruited. But it's really more of a class issue.

M says even though some young people maybe dissuaded¹⁷ because of continuing casualties in Iraq, the military's appeal to those young men and women remains strong.

For a family like LL's, Hmong refugees who live in a housing project and are on welfare, the economic advantages are clear.

Today the army is helping¹⁸ pay L's tuition at community college where he's studying criminology. And his mom is proud.

I really didn't want my son to go at first. But I'm really lucky that we were able to come to the United States and that my son could bring honor to the family.I'm thankful that he came back unharmed.

L still has another four years to serve