In the years that followed the U.S. invasion of Iraq, millions of Iraqis fled their homes to neighboring countries, Europe, and the United States. Concentrated in the Nineveh Plains region of northern Iraq, Chaldean Catholics became a particularly vulnerable group—at risk of persecution not only because of their religion but also because many served as interpreters for the U.S. military. Chaldeans’ unique intercultural military encounter set the stage for a specific type of migration tied to U.S. imperial expansion. Through their support of the U.S. military and their Christian faith, Chaldeans were able to successfully lobby for the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act. Effective in 2008, the bill created special visas for two classes of Iraqis: those who worked with the U.S. military and religious minorities. Although there was a large Chaldean community in Detroit, the bill spurred the growth of another Chaldean community in southern California. The second largest concentration of Chaldeans now resides in El Cajon, a city fifteen miles east of San Diego. As the Chaldean population in El Cajon has grown, signs on the city’s Main Street have changed from English and Spanish to Arabic. While some locals welcome the new refugees, others are frustrated with their new neighbors and feel they are losing their city. Despite the mixed response, Chaldeans remain loyal patriots. What types of networks of obligation does the military encounter between the United States and Chaldeans create, and what are its limits? How does this encounter render the Chaldean body in interactions with white Americans? Through interviews with Chaldeans and local news articles, I will investigate moments of hopeful encounters between Chaldeans and the United States. I argue that Chaldeans leveraged their work as interpreters for the U.S. military as a debt owed, successfully securing them resettlement in the United States. Additionally, they catered to U.S. Christian exceptionalism to obtain visas as a persecuted religious minority. However, Chaldeans are also precarious subjects not immune to white American backlash. Using Ghassan Hage’s concept of the nation as a distributor of hope, I argue that Chaldeans were admitted to the United States at a time when there was little hope to go around. Therefore, when U.S. obligations come into conflict with the hopes of its white citizens, the United States defaulted on its debts to Chaldeans.