Fifteen years ago, Juan Escalante illegally entered the US when he was 4 years old.  After graduating from high school, at age 18, he enlisted in the US military by using a fake green card he bought for $50.  He signed up for a four-year tour of duty.  Private Escalante was then shipped off to Iraq.

Illegal immigrants are not eligible to be US soldiers.  An illegal immigrant who is caught fraudulently serving in the US army is normally discharged.  The military discovered Escalante’s illegal status while he was deployed in Iraq, and decided that he would better serve America as a US citizen than as a deported immigrant.

There are currently 37,000 non-citizens in the US military.  About 3,000 of these servicemen are green card holders who have served in Iraq.  Many illegal immigrants go unrecognized in the US military, and immigrations officials say they have naturalized others in the military who have illegally entered the country.

An executive order signed by President Bush on July 3, 2003 allows for expedited naturalization for immigrants in active duty during the war in Afghanistan.  Over 13,000 military personnel have submitted citizenship applications under the order.

Private Escalante successfully passed his citizenship exam and was naturalized on February 11.  He serves with the First Brigade of the army’s Third Infantry Division and expects to head to Korea next month and then to return to Iraq.