Washington is reaching out to immigrants to remedy the shortfall of the military recruitment crisis. Foreigners are offered citizenship and other benefits in exchange for taking the oath.

The Biden administration is granting citizenship to those who enlist in the armed forces. The US military is in growing trouble because they can’t recruit enough people, so any form of help from anywhere is welcome. New recruits are being enticed with no trivial incentives: among other benefits, soldiers are now being offered free gender reassignment treatments, and being vaccinated against Covid is no longer mandatory.

This is how Nepal-born Esmita Spudes Bidari is now a service member. According to the report of the AP news agency, the young woman „had dreamed of becoming a soldier when she was a young girl”, but that was not an option in her country. However, her dream became a reality the moment she raised her right hand last week, and took the oath to join the US Army Reserves. She was helped on the journey by a recruiter, also of Nepali origin, who reached out to her through an online group.

America is facing an enormous crisis because a dwindling number of people want to join the armed forces. This shortfall is being remedied by recruiting immigrants. Those in charge have bolstered their marketing to entice legal residents to enlist, putting out pamphlets, working social media and broadening their outreach, particularly in inner cities. One key element is the use of recruiters with similar backgrounds to these potential recruits.

“It is one thing to hear about the military from locals here, but it is something else when it’s from your fellow brother, from the country you’re from,” said Bidari, who was contacted by Army Staff Sgt. Kalden Lama, the Dallas recruiter, on a Facebook group that helps Nepali people in America connect with one another.

The military has had success in recruiting legal immigrants, particularly among those seeking a job, education benefits and training as well as a quick route to becoming an American citizen.

Clear indications of the US military’s troubles are that neither the army nor the air force will be able to recruit a sufficient number of people this year, and the navy also expects to fall short of their previously cited targets. Current numbers suggest, however, that the Marine Corps may be the only one that fulfills its recruitment targets at an adequate pace.

The shortfalls have led to a wide range of new recruiting programs, ad campaigns and other incentives to help the services compete with often higher-paying, less risky jobs in the private sector. Defense leaders say young people are less familiar with the military, are drawn more to corporate jobs that provide similar education and other benefits, and want to avoid the risk of injury and death that service in defense of the United States could bring. In addition, they say that little more than 20 per cent meet the physical, mental and character requirements to join.

At the air force, the first group of recruits already graduated from basic training and were sworn in as new citizens in April. They included recruits from Cameroon, Jamaica, Kenya, the Philippines, Russia and South Africa. As of mid-May there were about 100 in basic training who had begun the citizenship process and about 40 who had completed it.

Under the new program, recruits are quickly enrolled in the citizenship system and when they start basic training, an expedited process kicks off, including all required paperwork and testing. By the time air force recruits finish their seven weeks of training, the process is complete and they are sworn in as American citizens.

While the military is happy to receive immigrants and sees them as a solution, ordinary people are suffering because of migrants. New York City is practically overwhelmed by new arrivals. As the influx of migrants is not easing, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul has offered help to Mayor Eric Adams. Among other things, the governor is seeking to find settlements that would take in asylum seekers from the overcrowded reception centers in the city.