Despite the continued hysterics of the punditariat classes wetting themselves about the descending anti-immigrant Gestapos carting away those who don’t belong here, we in fact do not have to be “anti” immigrant to make the West great again. Our esteemed Editor-in-Chief has one of the best ideas on the subject I’ve ever heard, a way to deal with the immigration problem that all sides should be happy with, that will even provide a pathway to citizenship for the dedicated immigrants that really want it. It is an idea so simple, so perfect, that I’m disappointed with myself for not having thought of it first: an American Foreign Legion.
Wouldn’t this just legitimize the illegitimate?
No.
Here’s why.
Similar to the French Foreign Legion, the American Foreign Legion would take recruits from any country into a military regiment that operated almost exclusively abroad for purely American interests, with the possibility of U.S. citizenship granted after completion of a mandatory five-year enlistment and upon recommendation of the applicant’s commanding officer.
Despite the lore of the French Foreign Legion taking all comers, including criminals and outlaws, this hasn’t been true for decades. The American Foreign Legion would work the same way.
Any illegal immigrant picked up within U.S. borders who is in decent physical shape, who has committed no felonies, and who is older than 18 will be offered a choice — apply for the American Foreign Legion or undergo an expedited deportation process (24 hours or less). Immigrants wishing to migrate to the United States legally without the extensive lead time that the formal application process involves may apply for the AFL as well.
Let’s step through the process.
An immigrant (illegal or otherwise) arrives at an AFL recruiting center and wishes to enlist. He fills out an application, is fingerprinted, DNA-sampled, and then undergoes a background check, a medical examination, a psychological screening, and an interview (all in his native language, if he can’t speak English).
If accepted, the recruit must surrender all possessions, sign a five-year enlistment contract, and is then shipped out to an AFL training facility somewhere inhospitable and remote, such as Death Valley, or the bush country of Alaska. There, the recruit awaits enough other recruits to form a platoon (possibly a company) while in the meantime begins mandatory classes in English, United States history, along with performing menial work around the facility and beginning a physical condition program.
Once enough recruits have been assigned to the same facility and assembled there, the group is formed as a platoon (or company), and the newest recruits begin classes in English, history, etc. The unit as a whole will not move forward until every recruit in the platoon can speak and write in English, and demonstrate competency in their other coursework. Once every recruit completes this stage, basic military training begins in earnest. This training would closely resemble the same basic training performed by the U.S. Army or Marine Corps; eight to 12 weeks of intense physical conditioning, infantry training, and classroom instruction. After basic training, all platoons will enter advanced infantry training. No AFL unit will specialize in anything non-infantry; they will either be fighters or battlefield support.
Once training is complete, the platoon/company will be immediately deployed overseas either to engage America’s enemies directly, or to provide security and support to U.S. forces and assets abroad. Once deployed, AFL troops will not be stationed within the 50 U.S. states except in extreme extenuating circumstances; all deployments must and will be abroad. Unlike the regular branches of the U.S. military, the AFL will offer no leave and few comforts of any kind. Theirs will truly be a Spartan existence for the full five years of their service. They will be paid for their service upon completion of the contract. In the fourth year of the contract, recruits may apply for U.S. citizenship ONLY with the recommendation of their commanding officer, and that citizenship will not be granted until completion of the five-year term. Any AWOL AFL soldiers will be hunted down without mercy and prosecuted with Prussian efficiency.
If immigrants truly want a piece of the American Dream, a slice of what makes the West humanity’s best hope for a better earthly life, then each and every one of them should have the opportunity to earn it in a way that instills American values through the application of a uniquely American work ethic. The days of immigrants flaunting the law with impunity must end, along with this insane proposition that immigrants are owed full rights, a basket of welfare benefits, and an unassailable social status just for showing up illegally will end. Either it can end in a mutually beneficial way, or it can end with blood in the sand.
But it will end.
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Monsieur Martel,
I used to believe something very similar. I no longer do. Consider:
* You effectively encourage the “invade the world” dynamic, which is dyscivic on multiple levels.
* You also build in a contingent “invite the world” dynamic that is theoretically K-ifying and limited by the AFL’s size – but doesn’t change underlying genetics, culture, or long-term ingroup loyalty. Especially if they can apply for family reunification, which will be hard to resist if they have shed blood for America.
* Immigrants have long-term loyalties to their place of origin. I can attest to this personally, and evidence shows that it spans multiple generations.
* Re-integration into society is going to be quite poor. It’s already poor for native American military. this will be worse. So you’ve created a pool of people with military skills who feel excluded, and have (candidly) already shown a willingness to be something between a citizen-soldier and a mercenary. The next step would not be hard, and the people who will pay them don’t have your interests in mind.
* On which note, were I an organized cartel that has already shown the ability to use advanced tech, I would spend a lot of time finding ways to get young recruits into this system. People I had a hold on in other ways, back home. There’s always the right threat, against the right person. If you think the screening process will catch most of these, dream on. There’s a strong risk that AIT becomes ACT – Advanced Cartelista Training.
* You create a sort of Gresham’s Law, in which non-citizens drive out citizen service. If the AFL is politically non-costly to deploy, it will be favored by The Empire. This will reduce the perceived need for regular forces, and long-term will shrink them due to budgetary decisions. This shrinkage creates pressure to have AFL armored units, first light then heavier, and associated aerial assets (esp. light planes, COIN planes, etc. that are neglected by the USAF; an AFL is an ideal place to buy and park them). Over time, understand that you are effectively building a rival army, with NO loyalty to specific places or people in America.
* Let me state that again: NO loyalty to specific places or people in America. Which means loyalty to the politicians in charge.
* Do you REALLY think that initial statutory prohibitions against deployment within CONUS will survive, the moment it becomes expedient for those in charge to do this?
It is possible that the America of 1950 could support a limited American Foreign Legion, for use within the Cold War, and survive. The America of 2016, in the global environment of 2016?
With all due respect, sir – internationally this is bringing a Glock to a carbine fight, and domestically it is madness that will arm tyranny.
“…long-term loyalties to their place of origin”
This wasn’t expressed exactly right. They do have long term ties and interests, however (vid. the Irish in America as an obvious example).
In general, people suck at disentangling the personal from larger questions of national interest. Immigrants are not magically immune to this general human tendency.
Given that there is already a long term example (FFL), is there any evidence of the sort of issues Mr Katzman posits?
leff,
I notice you have not advanced an argument.
There’s lots of evidence to mine. I’m disinclined to do that work for you. But a few questions may help you as you do this work yourself:
How is France doing these days? Why?
Do they start from the same base approach to identity as Americans, or not?
Do they start from the same conception of society and the state’s role, or not?
What does Roman history suggest?
What does the history of mercenaries generally suggest?
What is the current behavior of cartels vis-a-vis military personnel?
Do ISIS’ methods of recruitment and financial skimming off of European migrants suggest dangerous possibilities that affect this proposal?
What is the effectiveness of statutory or even constitutional prohibitions on the behavior of the American federal government in 2016?
If you do poke into these, I’m happy to hear your conclusions and discuss what you think. I think the answers are unfavorable to the proposal framework offered in this article.
If immigrants truly want […] then each and every one of them should have the opportunity to earn it
“Should have”? Who cares what immigrants want? The only thing–the only thing–that matters is what Americans want. Immigrants are owed nothing.
Either it can end in a mutually beneficial way, or it can end with blood in the sand.
Mutual benefit? Why should we give a damn about what benefits immigrants?
If it true, and it may well be, that there is no good way to ensure immigrants’ loyalty and commitment other than requiring them to serve honorably in a shooting war, then that simply demonstrates the folly of immigration. We are not going to have eternal war for the sake of naturalizing immigrants.
I’d have to side with Mr. Katzman. This is only feasible in our current cultural state as an aid to empire. It harks back to something far older than the FFL – the legions of Rome. The loyalty of these units would become to the other members of their unit and their commanding officers. Even making the assumption of an American officer corps, “extreme circumstances” have every chance of being fabricated. I’d foresee an popular and successful commander potentially leading or being involved in a coup to “save” the country. With no real ties of loyalty for the soldiers to the nation they would be perfect tools for such a coup. This kind of unit is more suited to an empire – serve abroad in conquered territories and retire as colonists in said territories. Maybe I am denying the obvious – we are already an empire – but I’d prefer to return to the status of a republic.
As someone who served voluntarily, I see military service as a duty of citizens. It is a burden that is born out of love of country and belief in the society’s basic principles. I have no interest in farming out or ceding my duties to others and am of the opinion that a nation whose citizenry is unwilling to fulfill that duty is already dying (if not dead).
While I agree the bar to immigration needs to be higher and more difficult, auxiliary military service is the least optimal method for a republic, and arguably would be a cure even worse than the disease.
We not only shouldn’t arm third-world savages and legitimize them (which the American Foreign Legion WOULD do), we should actually be declaring birth-right citizenships invalid, deporting as many nonWhite residents, citizens or not, and closing borders to anyone who isn’t from Europe.
There is no easy, pleasant solution to the invasion of third-world savages facilitated by White Marxist traitors and cowards. We should not worry for one second about a solution that pleases all sides. The side that espouses the third-world invasion is a deadly enemy of civilization.
We are at war. We will not compromise. Only the most draconian measures to stop and turn back the third-world invasion should be considered. It will not be pleasant, but it is our only hope.
Katzman makes valid points.
Easy fix. Parachute drop them in Islamic countries with a task of Christianising them by force and building western civilisation in the shape of Christian fortified cities. They don’t get to live in USA but rather in the civilised and Christianised countries they are parachuted into.
Civilising the world one Islamic country at a time. It’s what the West needs to do.
This would require an overseas empire to quarter and employ our legionaires. That’s unAmerican.
This would cause a legion-sized flood of military-trained, military-age aliens loyal to their home religions and home countries. They might be many things, but they would not be American. Keeping them overseas for 5 years (or for 20) wouldn’t change that.
This is utterly inconsistant with the founders’ vision of preserving liberty for their descendents. Do you want to preserve our nation, or the current empire that is destroying it?
I think the better policy is “America for Americans.” If you weren’t born here, to parents who were born here, run along home now. No dual citizenship, no anchor babies, no divided alliegance. No foreigners, no foreign legions, no foreign dependencies, no foreign wars, no resident aliens.
[…] published a piece that proposes an interesting solution to dealing with illegals and giving them a “path to citizenship.” Think a US Foreign Legion, roughly modeled on the French […]