Even for a United States citizen like Mr. Hamid, for example, going to work for the American military in Iraq can be as controversial as it is lucrative, and not something to showcase. In Iraq, Iraqis who work for the American military have long been targeted as traitors by anti-American militias, and have sometimes been killed. Even in Sacramento, going back home to work can be difficult: Iraqis in the city may be proud American citizens, but many are still critical of American policy in Iraq, blaming the United States for the violence and destruction of their homeland.

“You could be a translator at a time of peace for the U.S. embassy in Switzerland, and there would be no issue,” said Mounir Kaddoura, an American of Palestinian heritage who runs the funeral home in Sacramento that prepared Mr. Hamid’s body for burial.

Mr. Kaddoura said the Muslim immigrants he knows love America but are tired of endless wars in the Middle East and want American forces out of the region.

“But God forbid, if someone was attacking California, I’d grab a gun and fight,” he said.

Many in Sacramento are reluctant to even discuss Mr. Hamid’s death, for fear of retribution against relatives in Iraq, where armed groups are known to monitor digital media.

Image Nawres Waleed Hamid was a naturalized citizen who grew up in Iraq. Credit... via American River College

“People are afraid to comment online about the political situation because it can affect their families back home,” Mr. Elkarra said.

The Sacramento Valley is home to some 75,000 Muslims, according to Mr. Elkarra, including thousands of Iraqis and Afghans who fled wars. There are more than 20 mosques in the region, serving different sects and ethnicities, as well as countless cafes, restaurants and grocery stores that cater to Middle Eastern immigrants. One such place is the Babylon City Market, a deli and grocery store whose shelves are stocked with dates and Middle Eastern candies and where workers bake diamond-shaped bread, common in the bakeries of Baghdad.