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Articles by Sofya Aptekar
Don’t Single Out Military Deportations, Dismantle The Deportation Machine
Above photo: Federal agents patrol the halls of immigration court at the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building on August 12, 2025 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images. Military veterans and their families should not be deported. But neither should other immigrants. Let’s reject a politics of “deservingness” and protect everyone. One Purple Heart veteran is in deportation proceedings. Another has self-deportedin anticipation of being detained.
Don’t Single Out Military Deportations, Dismantle the Deportation Machine
Sofya Aptekar August 14, 2025 One Purple Heart veteran is in deportation proceedings. Another has self-deported in anticipation of being detained. The father of three Marines is beaten and arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at work. The wife of a Marine languishes in a Louisiana immigration detention center, apprehended at her green card interview.
The Invention of Heterosexual Culture
BeeLine Reader uses subtle color gradients to help you read more efficiently. Heterosexuality is celebrated in film and television, in pop songs and opera, in literature and on greeting cards. Simultaneously, it is taken for granted, so deeply embedded in our culture that it often goes unquestioned. And yet, as Louis-Georges Tin shows in his book “The Invention of Heterosexual Culture” (excerpted below), heterosexuality as a dominant cultural force is a relatively recent development.
Author Conversation: Sofya Aptekar and Cristina Dragomir
Dragomir's Review of Aptekar's Green Card Soldier (2023) In Green Card Soldier: Between Model Immigrant and Security Threat (2023), Sofya Aptekar delves into the world of immigrant soldiers, exploring their distinct narratives and choices. Often, the military is perceived as composed of citizen soldiers protecting the nation. Yet, Aptekar's book reveals a contrasting reality, shedding light on the lives of nearly 5 percent of new military recruits who are noncitizens.
Green Card Soldiers
Ricardo was born in Mexico and moved to Texas in 1985, when he was eight. Ricardo’s parents were part of a long-term migration system which relied on recruitment by U.S. businesses seeking cheap workers with few rights. His father supported the family by working on dairy farms. Ricardo recounted a childhood burdened by food insecurity and economic precarity. As a teen, he milked cows alongside his father during school breaks, to help pay off family debts.
Why Immigrants Enlist in the U.S. Military
BeeLine Reader uses subtle color gradients to help you read more efficiently. As the U.S. military struggles through the worst recruitment crisis in 25 years, it has redoubled efforts to recruit from immigrant communities. Immigrants who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents are eligible to join the armed forces – and have done so since the beginning of U.S. history.
I asked immigrants from 28 countries why they're serving in the US military -- and it's not primarily to gain citizenship
By Sofya Aptekar, Associate Professor of Urban Studies, City University of New York As the U.S. military struggles through the worst recruitment crisis in 25 years, it has redoubled efforts to recruit from immigrant communities. Immigrants who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents are eligible to join the armed forces - and have done so since the beginning of U.S. history.
I asked immigrants from 28 countries why they're serving in the US military -- and it's not primarily to gain citizenship
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I asked immigrants from 28 countries why they're serving in the US military -- and it's not primarily to gain citizenship
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)
I asked immigrants from 28 countries why they're serving in the US military -- and it's not primarily to gain citizenship Original
As the U.S. military struggles through the worst recruitment crisis in 25 years, it has redoubled efforts to recruit from immigrant communities. Immigrants who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents are eligible to join the armed forces – and have done so since the beginning of U.S. history. Service in the military means an expedited path to U.S. citizenship, and many assume that the desire to get U.S. citizenship is what pushes immigrants to enlist.
I asked immigrants from 28 countries why they're serving in the US military -- and it's not primarily to gain citizenship
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I asked immigrants from 28 countries why they're serving in the US military -- and it's not primarily to gain citizenship
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I asked immigrants from 28 countries why they're serving in the US military -- and it's not primarily to gain citizenship
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) kAmW%wt r~}'t#$p%x~}X pD E96 &]$] >:=:E2CJ DECF88=6D E9C@F89 E96 H@CDE k2 9C67lQ9EEADi^^HHH]HD;]4@>^2CE:4=6D^>:=:E2CJ\C64CF:E:?8\4C:D:D\G6E6C2?D\5@?E\H2?E\E96:C\49:=5C6?\E@\;@:?\d`_6`2adQmC64CF:E>6?E 4C:D:Dk^2m :?
I asked immigrants from 28 countries why they're serving in the US military -- and it's not primarily to gain citizenship
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The ‘just war,’ the military doesn’t need DEI and electric cars aren’t for everyone
We live in a partisan age, and our news habits can reinforce our own perspectives. Consider this an effort to broaden our collective outlook with essays beyond the range of our typical selections. FROM THE LEFT From “Radical Problems and Liberal Solutions,” by Robert Kuttner in The American Prospect at tinyurl.com/3xyuz4f4. The context, from the author: Joe Biden is doing well given the divided Congress.
The US Military’s Defense of Affirmative Action Is Hypocritical and Self-Serving
The US Military’s Defense of Affirmative Action Is Hypocritical and Self-Serving In the recent SCOTUS case on affirmative action, the US government argued for the importance of race-conscious admissions at its military academies. This isn’t about “racial justice”: the military wants to use race in admissions to strengthen American empire. Cadets walk into Michie Stadium during West Point’s graduation ceremony on May 27, 2023 in West Point, New York.
Green Card Soldier: Between Model Citizen and Security Threat
Sofya Aptekar is Associate Professor of Urban Studies at the City University of New York School of Labor and Urban Studies. She holds a PhD in sociology. She also taught sociology and critical ethnic and community studies at University of Massachusetts Boston. Below, Sofya shares 5 key insights from her new book, Green Card Soldier: Between Model Citizen and Security Threat. Listen to the audio version—read by Sofya herself—in the Next Big Idea App.
Injuries of Assimilation: The Hidden Toll of Military Labor on Noncitizen Soldiers
BeeLine Reader uses subtle color gradients to help you read more efficiently. There are two mostly disconnected stories when it comes to military labor and life after leaving the military. According to one story, a patriotic youth gains valuable skills while keeping America safe, and serves as a model citizen afterward, enjoying the honor of being a veteran, as well as educational, health care, and housing benefits. The other story evokes different images altogether.
Green Card Soldier
Description Praise An in-depth and troubling look at a little-known group of immigrants—noncitizen soldiers who enlist in the US military. While the popular image of the US military is one of citizen soldiers protecting their country, the reality is that nearly 5 percent of all first-time military recruits are noncitizens. Their reasons for enlisting are myriad, but many are motivated by the hope of gaining citizenship in return for their service.
Immigrants Shouldn't Have to Sacrifice Themselves to COVID for Basic Rights
During the election campaign that led him to the White House, Joe Biden promised swift reversal of Donald Trump’s draconian anti-immigrant policies. On his first day in office, President Biden signed executive orders to halt construction of the border wall, reverse the Muslim ban and safeguard DACA, a temporary programme that protects some migrants who came to the U.S. as children. Only a week into his term, the bold plans for reform began to falter.
All Undocumented Immigrants Deserve Citizenship—Not Just “Essential…
We must stop thinking about citizenship for immigrants in terms of who deserves it. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) The Covid-19 pandemic has brought renewed attention to the large number of undocumented immigrants who work in “essential jobs,” ranging from agriculture to hospital workers. Many of them labor in workplaces like meatpacking where the virus is notoriously rampant, and few to no protections exist.
All Undocumented Immigrants Deserve Citizenship-Not Just “Essential Workers”
The pandemic has made clear that we need to provide citizenship for all immigrants, and safe working conditions for all workers. Individuals should be granted citizenship simply because they are human and they are here. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought renewed attention to the large number of undocumented immigrants who work in “essential jobs,” ranging from agriculture to hospital workers.
The Public Library as Resistive Space in the Neoliberal City
Article Sofya Aptekar Corresponding Author E-mail address: sofya.aptekar@umb.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3823-2902 University of Massachusetts Boston Correspondence should be addressed to Sofya Aptekar, UMass Boston Sociology, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125; E-mail address: sofya.aptekar@umb.edu .
I asked immigrants from 28 countries why they're serving in the US military -- and it's not primarily to gain citizenship
As the U.S. military struggles through the worst recruitment crisis[1] in 25 years, it has redoubled efforts to recruit from immigrant communities[2]. Immigrants who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents are eligible to join the armed forces – and have done so since the beginning of U.S. history. Service in the military means an expedited path to U.S. citizenship, and many assume that the desire to get U.S. citizenship is what pushes immigrants to enlist.
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