Man given citizenship because son killed in Iraq
But while Arredondo can celebrate his citizenship and no longer fears deportation, gaining citizenship is bittersweet.
On Aug. 25, 2004, his son, Lance Corporal Alexander Arredondo of the Marines, was killed in action in Iraq, which was also Carlos’ birthday. And due to a 2004 law that President George W. Bush enacted, any parent who was not a citizen who has a child die as a serviceman automatically gets their citizenship.
“Not like I wanted to be in that position because of my son,” said Arredondo. “But we do the best we can.”
On his 44th birthday, after being confronted with the loss of his son, Carlos set fire to a U.S. Marine van and himself. He sustained burns to 26 percent of his body; he has since apologized in person to the USMC Casualty Assistance Team.
But while Arredondo continues to mourn for the loss of his firstborn having started the nonprofit group People United for Peace, he is happy to be an American citizen.
“It gave me more security for me to be free in this country because being an immigrant, legal or illegal, there is more risk with the freedom of speech or in the situation where I am in because of the situation with my son,” said Arredondo, who has become a very outspoken public critic of the Iraq war. Arredondo often attends peace vigils around the area against the war. “People can walk up to me and get upset with me and that can cause a difficult situation. People could get very upset with me and maybe even cause deportation,” he said.
But Arredondo said he is honoring his son and other fallen heroes from our American military branches.
“I’ve been in Boston for 26 years, in case you didn’t recognize my accent,” joked Arredondo, who also changed his official name to Alexander Brian Arredondo in honor of his two sons.
And Arredondo takes his duties to America very seriously. He volunteers for the American Red Cross as a Spanish-English translator. He is also starting to volunteer for the West Roxbury Veterans Hospital.
Arredondo said he had filed for American citizenship twice before, once in 1990, which he was rejected because he checked off an incorrect box. He also applied in 2001.
But he reached one of his goals in a ceremony in Lowell with 950 other new American citizens. Arredondo said there were more than 106 countries represented in that one ceremony as friends, family and other loved ones piled into the Lowell Memorial Auditorium.
“It was emotional and also pretty much a dream come true for me,” said Carlos, whose wife, Melida, and son, Brian, were present for the ceremony. Carlos also was able to keep his citizenship in Costa Rica, where he was born.
But Carlos recalled why as a young man, he wanted to come to America.
“I wanted to pursue the dream that I had to have a better life and also to come to see this great country,” said Arredondo. “I wanted to be in this wonderful land. I learned about this man in Costa Rica in 1962, I was 2 years old. He was there with his wife before he got killed in Dallas. He said ‘Don’t ask what your country can do for you — but what you can do for your country’.”
Arredondo said his family adored President John F. Kennedy because JFK set up a program in Costa Rica called An Answer for Progress, which provided assistance to very poor people, like Carlos’ family.
He recalled how America sent food and medical reinforcements a mere two days after the Racu volcano erupted in 1962. He said America was the first country to assist.
“The beauty of this country, which is everywhere, the power of this country. We see it everywhere. The kindness we see it everywhere with people. I have been learning from them and volunteering with people,” said Arredondo. “The decisions that the people in this [Bush] administration make have nothing to do with the servicemen. I am proud to be an American citizen to honor this country and do the best that I can for this country.”
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