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For the same reason that foreign nationals can join the military, including the Coast Guard that has an overlapping mission: it's a nation of immigrants and for

For the same reason that foreign nationals can join the military, including the Coast Guard that has an overlapping mission: it's a nation of immigrants and for centuries until very recently most Americans readily recognized the value and necessity of recruiting foreign people into various posts.

like_any_other 3d ago
> for centuries until very recently most Americans readily recognized the value and necessity of recruiting foreign people into various posts. You forgot to mention that, for those centuries, US immigration was effectively whites-only, until the 1965 Hart-Celler act (that politicians promised wouldn't change this!): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hart-Celler_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hart-Celler_Act
- parineum 3d ago
  You forgot to mention that those people weren't considered "white" at the time.
- Brybry 3d ago
  I think you're conflating naturalization/citizenship with immigration. The Naturalization Act of 1790 (and subsequent) acts said you had to be white and have lived in the US for X years already to become a citizen. [1] However, per your cited article a law was passed in 1882 to decrease Chinese immigration (who famously immigrated and helped build our railroads). [2] The Chinese immigrants couldn't become citizens but there was nothing (at the time) stopping them from moving and living and working in the US. [3] Anecdotally and more recently: my Mexican grandmother, who married my World War 2 veteran grandfather in Mexico, legally immigrated just fine in the 1950s. But, yes, most immigration was Europeans and African slaves but probably that was because it was expensive unless you effectively sold yourself. [4] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalization_Act_of_1790 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalization_Act_of_1790 [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Exclusion_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Exclusion_Act [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th-century_Chinese_immigration_to_America https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th-century_Chinese_immigrati... [4] https://www.history.com/articles/u-s-immigration-before-1965#:~:text=price%20of%20passage%20was%20steep https://www.history.com/articles/u-s-immigration-before-1965...
  - like_any_other 3d ago
    > But, yes, most immigration was Europeans and African slaves but probably that was because it was expensive unless you effectively sold yourself. You don't think it had anything to do with the Naturalization Act of 1790 that limited citizenship to whites, or the fact that even in 1965, congressmen felt the need to lie to the public and promise that law would not change US demographics? It was just because it was "expensive", that people from Europe immigrated, but not from South America?
- walrus01 3d ago
  And in the same era in Canada: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Immigration_Act,_1923 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Immigration_Act,_1923 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_head_tax https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_head_tax
- jeffbee 3d ago
  Lol no. For almost the entire 20th century, until 1992, Filipinos could just join the Navy or Coast Guard at foreign recruiting posts, without even being American residents, then get fast-tracked for citizenship.
  - sheafification 3d ago
    I remember learning about that from Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon, back in the day. It’s not even a US-specific thing. Many countries recruit foreigners to their militaries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_militaries_that_recruit_foreigners https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_militaries_that_recrui...
    - xhkkffbf 3d ago
      I've heard of some people on the lam who wanted to join the French Foreign Legion, a military that gives a no-questions-asked grant of citizenship at the end.
- wat10000 3d ago
  Why is this so important to mention here?
  - cucumber3732842 3d ago
    >Why is this so important to mention here? Race baiting bullshit allows people to poo all over the discussion and avoid having to confront the actual reality of what kinds of people we make good immigrants and citizens and why, because the answers to those questions are gonna cast some shade domestically. Any correlation to skin tone is mostly coincidental or just a figment of how the cards fell historically.
  - black6 3d ago
    [flagged]
    - g8oz 3d ago
      This is ahistorical nonsense. White immigrants are perfectly capable of retaining native prejudices. Localized tensions among Eastern European immigrants in the earlier 20th century have been documented. And any immigrant group regardless of race will align with American culture a few generations in. If by not fitting in you mean that they will continue to look different and retain some links to their ancestral culture then sure.
      - financltravsty 3d ago
        This also assumes eastern europeans are "white" (which is debatable in more serious circles; speaking as an EE myself).
    - mathisfun123 3d ago
      Bro since when is just naked racism and xenophobia cool enough that people feel comfortable enough to post nasty shit like this on hn even. Can't we have an auto-ban no tolerance policy for this???
      - 3d ago

like_any_other 3d ago

> for centuries until very recently most Americans readily recognized the value and necessity of recruiting foreign people into various posts. You forgot to mention that, for those centuries, US immigration was effectively whites-only, until the 1965 Hart-Celler act (that politicians promised wouldn't change this!): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hart-Celler_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hart-Celler_Act

parineum 3d ago
You forgot to mention that those people weren't considered "white" at the time.
Brybry 3d ago
I think you're conflating naturalization/citizenship with immigration. The Naturalization Act of 1790 (and subsequent) acts said you had to be white and have lived in the US for X years already to become a citizen. [1] However, per your cited article a law was passed in 1882 to decrease Chinese immigration (who famously immigrated and helped build our railroads). [2] The Chinese immigrants couldn't become citizens but there was nothing (at the time) stopping them from moving and living and working in the US. [3] Anecdotally and more recently: my Mexican grandmother, who married my World War 2 veteran grandfather in Mexico, legally immigrated just fine in the 1950s. But, yes, most immigration was Europeans and African slaves but probably that was because it was expensive unless you effectively sold yourself. [4] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalization_Act_of_1790 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalization_Act_of_1790 [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Exclusion_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Exclusion_Act [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th-century_Chinese_immigration_to_America https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th-century_Chinese_immigrati... [4] https://www.history.com/articles/u-s-immigration-before-1965#:~:text=price%20of%20passage%20was%20steep https://www.history.com/articles/u-s-immigration-before-1965...
- like_any_other 3d ago
  > But, yes, most immigration was Europeans and African slaves but probably that was because it was expensive unless you effectively sold yourself. You don't think it had anything to do with the Naturalization Act of 1790 that limited citizenship to whites, or the fact that even in 1965, congressmen felt the need to lie to the public and promise that law would not change US demographics? It was just because it was "expensive", that people from Europe immigrated, but not from South America?
walrus01 3d ago
And in the same era in Canada: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Immigration_Act,_1923 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Immigration_Act,_1923 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_head_tax https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_head_tax
jeffbee 3d ago
Lol no. For almost the entire 20th century, until 1992, Filipinos could just join the Navy or Coast Guard at foreign recruiting posts, without even being American residents, then get fast-tracked for citizenship.
- sheafification 3d ago
  I remember learning about that from Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon, back in the day. It’s not even a US-specific thing. Many countries recruit foreigners to their militaries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_militaries_that_recruit_foreigners https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_militaries_that_recrui...
  - xhkkffbf 3d ago
    I've heard of some people on the lam who wanted to join the French Foreign Legion, a military that gives a no-questions-asked grant of citizenship at the end.
wat10000 3d ago
Why is this so important to mention here?
- cucumber3732842 3d ago
  >Why is this so important to mention here? Race baiting bullshit allows people to poo all over the discussion and avoid having to confront the actual reality of what kinds of people we make good immigrants and citizens and why, because the answers to those questions are gonna cast some shade domestically. Any correlation to skin tone is mostly coincidental or just a figment of how the cards fell historically.
- black6 3d ago
  [flagged]
  - g8oz 3d ago
    This is ahistorical nonsense. White immigrants are perfectly capable of retaining native prejudices. Localized tensions among Eastern European immigrants in the earlier 20th century have been documented. And any immigrant group regardless of race will align with American culture a few generations in. If by not fitting in you mean that they will continue to look different and retain some links to their ancestral culture then sure.
    - financltravsty 3d ago
      This also assumes eastern europeans are "white" (which is debatable in more serious circles; speaking as an EE myself).
  - mathisfun123 3d ago
    Bro since when is just naked racism and xenophobia cool enough that people feel comfortable enough to post nasty shit like this on hn even. Can't we have an auto-ban no tolerance policy for this???
    - 3d ago