[kasey_junk]

Between a quarter to a third of the union army was foreign born during the civil war (while the broader population was only about 10% foreign born).

That’s not to say all of them were non-citizens but the Union went out of its way to recruit abroad.

The scene in Gangs of New York where fresh off the boat immigrants were signed into the army was realistic. We have a long history of using freshly arrived folks in our military with no major problems.

[SuperNinKenDo]

I don't know enough about that to open my mouth much on it, but I'd say civil wars are a special case given they are often fought over specific principles, ergo, have a certain natural selection.

Further, you're talking about a time in America's history where standing armies were dispreferred, which is not what modern American militarism looks like at all.

Finally, as far as "foreign born" people go, as I said, I support the idea of military service being a route for them toward citizenship, I just don't think going down to the border and signing people up there is a good idea.

I think one interesting idea, although you might only be able to do it as a once off without creating too many bad incentives, would be to offer amnesty and a route to citizenship this way.

I don't have a dog in the fight though, I'm not American. The risks of making joining the armed forces a direct route to citizenship in one of the most desirable countries to immigrate to in the world is not negligible though, you need to be careful, lest your armed forces turn into green card mercenaries, with no value base.