39.  Immigrants have continued to play a vital role in the U.S. military in the modern  era, including since 2001, when the current period of armed conflict commenced. In 2009, there  were nearly 115,000 immigrants serving in the U.S. military, representing almost 8 percent of the  then–1.4 million military personnel on active duty.4    40.  Non-citizens make up a considerable number of those fighting in today’s wars.  Between 1999 and 2010, approximately 80,000 non-citizens enlisted in the military, accounting  for 4 percent of the total number of persons entering service in that period.5 Between 2011 and  2015, an average of about 10,000 non-citizens served in the Army per year.6 The role non- citizens have played in recent conflicts is also reflected in the number—over 100,000—that have  naturalized on the basis of their military service since 2001.7   42.  Immigrants are critical to the readiness of the U.S. military. In every recruitment  year between 2002 and 2013, with the exception of 2009, the Army would have failed its  recruitment goals for its active duty force without non-citizen enlistments.10    43.  Immigrant, and specifically non-citizen, recruits also tend to be of “higher  quality” than their citizen counterparts. DoD reported that in 2016, the majority of non-citizen  recruits were “high-quality,” with Tier 1 education credentials (i.e., at least a high school  diploma as opposed to an alternative credential, such as a GED) and an Armed Forces  Qualification Test (“AFQT”) score in the 50th percentile or higher. It further reported that a  higher percentage of non-citizen recruits in the Army (which had over half of all non-citizen  recruits) were high-quality compared to citizen recruits.11 MAVNI recruits, in particular, are of  exceptional quality, averaging four more years of education and 17 points higher on the AFQT  than non-MAVNI service members and with English proficiency generally on par with that of  native-born speakers.12   45.  Finally, non-citizens are likely to possess skills critical to the military, particularly  linguistic diversity and cultural competencies as well as medical and information-technology  expertise.14 DoD initiated the MAVNI program for this very reason, to recruit non-citizens who  have skills “vital to the national interest,” including healthcare professionals and individuals with  expertise in certain foreign languages and cultures. 10 U.S.C. § 504(b)(2).   46.  Immigrants have repeatedly gone above and beyond the call of duty in their  military service to the United States. Many immigrants have served with distinction and are  among those awarded the highest honors in the military. Over 20 percent of recipients of the  military’s highest honor—the Congressional Medal of Honor—have been immigrants.15  Immigrants have also won significant awards in combat and many have sacrificed their lives  fighting for this country since 2011.16  B.  Congress Has Historically Allowed Non-Citizens Serving During Wartime to  Naturalize Almost Immediately Upon Entering Service    48.  Congress first authorized the expedited naturalization of non-citizens serving in  the military during the War of 1812 by passing legislation permitting non-citizens to  immediately become citizens so long as they had declared an intention to naturalize before the  start of hostilities.17    49.  During the Civil War, the Union passed several laws to encourage the enlistment  of non-citizens by offering a path to expedited naturalization. An 1862 law permitted “any alien”  who “has been or shall be hereafter honorably discharged . . . to become a citizen” upon proof of  one year’s residency (reduced from the general requirement of five) within the United States.18   50.  Congress provided an expedited path to citizenship for non-citizens serving  during World War I. In a 1918 law, it authorized “any alien” serving in the military during the  war to “file his petition for naturalization . . . without proof of the required five years’ residence  within the United States.”19 In discussing this Act, senators emphasized that the nearly 125,000  non-citizen soldiers then serving in the U.S. Army should not be sent to fight in a war overseas  without first obtaining their citizenship.20    52.  In 1952, Congress enacted the INA, which continues to authorize an expedited  path to citizenship for non-citizens serving in the U.S. military.   53.  Under 8 U.S.C. § 1440, which governs expedited military naturalization during  wartime, service members must meet a single requirement to apply for naturalization—they must  have “served honorably as a member of the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve or in an  active-duty status.” Id.§ 1440(a). Active duty service members begin their service when they  ship to basic training. Members of the Selected Reserve begin their service either when they ship  to basic training or when they participate in their first drill, whichever comes first.     54.  Section 1440 imposes no other requirement for service members to demonstrate  their eligibility to apply for naturalization.    55.  The plain language of section 1440—“served honorably”—makes clear that the  honorable service requirement is backwards-looking.    56.  Section 1440 does not condition the honorable service requirement upon any  minimum length of service.   58.  DHS, which is responsible for implementing and enforcing the naturalization  laws, reads section 1440 to provide that service members establish their eligibility to apply for  naturalization by demonstrating only that they have served honorably.    59.  DHS has also explicitly acknowledged in past rulemaking that section 1440  imposes no minimum service duration requirement.    61.  USCIS Form N-426 further reflects that section 1440 establishes a service  member’s eligibility to apply for naturalization based solely upon the demonstration of honorable  service. The form instructs DoD to record the applicant’s periods of service and designate “yes”  or “no” as to whether the applicant has served honorably during each period. It does not require  DoD to verify whether a service member has met a minimum service duration or any other  requirement.  D.  DoD’s Role in Certifying Honorable Service is Purely Ministerial    62.  In the INA, Congress charged the Secretary of Homeland Security “with the  administration and enforcement of this chapter and all other laws relating to immigration and  naturalization of aliens, except insofar as . . . such laws relate to the powers, functions, and duties  conferred upon,” inter alia, the Attorney General. 8 U.S.C. § 1103(a)(1). 8 U.S.C. § 1421(a)  delegates to the Attorney General “[t]he sole authority to naturalize persons as citizens of the  United States.” The Attorney General has, in turn, authorized USCIS “to perform such acts as are  necessary and proper to implement the Attorney General’s [naturalization] authority” under 8  A.  Immigrants Make Valuable Contributions to the U.S. Military  