First and foremost, we are Americans. Everything else is secondary.

This reasoning relies on the assumption that immigrants can be persuaded to ultimately consider themselves a citizen of their new nation first and of their nation of birth second. In this way, they may still retain and practice all of their cultural traditions but “when push comes to shove” they will put their host nation’s interests first.

While I can understand this view (I think my sister would belong in this group, emotionally anyway), this can be a slippery slope. The ties you maintain with your “homeland” is can be … restrictive. When push comes to shove, by then you may not be allowed to serve your first country, because of the real and perceived loyalties you still have for the country you fled—just look at the Japanese Americans and German Americans during WWII.

If any of them had made it very clear from the very beginning that they are loyal citizens of United States and they have no binding ties to their old country any more, emotional or otherwise, I am sure they would have been allowed to serve, rather than being … contained for the protection of general welfare.

For one, if America should ever go to war with Korea (especially the South), I am volunteering my service to the military, in whatsoever way I can serve best.