Thread: DREAM Act could mean boost for military

Immigration measure could mean boost for military, proponents say
Proposal would allow immigrant students to attain permanent legal status if they complete two years of college or serve honorably in the military.

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/n ... itary.html
By By Eunice Moscoso
WASHINGTON BUREAU
Friday, September 21, 2007

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military, facing recruitment challenges and a continuing war in Iraq, could benefit greatly from a measure that would give illegal immigrant high school students a path to citizenship, proponents say.

Sen Richard Durbin, D-Ill., author of the measure, said this week that it would provide the Pentagon with a pool of ideal candidates for military service at a time when the government is struggling to find soldiers and offering up to $20,000 enlistment bonuses.


"All recruits would be well-qualified high school graduates with good moral character," Durbin said.

The legislation, known as the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (or DREAM) Act, could face a Senate vote as soon as this week.

The measure would allow illegal immigrant students to eventually attain permanent legal status if they complete two years of college or serve honorably in the military for at least two years.

The law would apply to illegal immigrants who have lived in the United States for at least five years before the measure's enactment, have graduated from high school or obtained a GED, and have no criminal record.

The measure was part of a White House-backed immigration overhaul that failed in the Senate this year.

The nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute estimated that the DREAM Act would encourage 279,000 people to enroll in college or join the military.

Margaret Stock, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve and a professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., said the legislation would help the Pentagon in several ways.

A large number of illegal immigrant students are Hispanic, a group with a high propensity to choose military service and think of it as a valid career, she said.

In addition, those who enroll in college are likely to join ROTC programs and officer candidate school, she said.

Stock also said that the young immigrants would come fully vetted by the Department of Homeland Security, saving the Pentagon the time and money of conducting criminal background checks.

"These are people who grew up in the United States; they're socialized as Americans. We've paid for their education for the most part. ... And at the point when they're about to become productive members of our society, we're going to deport them. This makes no sense," Stock said.

Max Boot, a senior fellow and military expert at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, also supports the DREAM Act.

"It's an excellent piece of legislation that will allow us to assimilate some valuable immigrants and also help the military deal with some of its recruiting problems. It's a win-win situation," he said.

Boot and Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, have proposed letting thousands of immigrants into the United States to serve four years in the military in exchange for citizenship.

The two influential scholars say that allowing immigrants to be soldiers would solve the military's recruitment problems and provide it with more translators and experts in other cultures.

Mark Krikorian, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that advocates lower levels of immigration, said the military benefits of the DREAM Act are a "ridiculous exaggeration" and are used as a "fake justification" to give amnesty to illegal immigrants.

emoscoso@coxnews.com

They are not going to join....this is a card trick

I don't know about you guys but I don't want illegals in our military. Even in the civilian sector they show us every day that they have NO loyalty to this country. My son's in the military and I don't want an illegal being the one who is supposed to be watching his back

Illegals in the military...just say no!

Ostrich

The measure would allow illegal immigrant students to eventually attain permanent legal status if they complete two years of college or serve honorably in the military for at least two years.

More of the open borders cheap spin. The Dream Act amnesty, full of waivers and loopholes, actually says "uniformed services" which means the NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Adminstration) etc. and NOT just the Army, Air Force etc. And I get the feeling that irrespective of "uniformed" service, many would opt for bogus correspondence schools etc.

JUST SAY NO THE THE DREAM ACT, CHAIN MIGRATION AMNESTY !!

Look back to later Roman history.

When the later Roman Empire was unable to fill the ranks of its Army with Romans due to the lack of civic pride and patriotism instead they recruited foreign barbarians. Later legions frequently staged rebellions and staged coups...

The later Empire unable or unwilling to defend its borders had many large barbarian tribes migrate into the Empire enmass establishing themselves. Without the will to expel them they were instead made into Federi? (allies) and charged with guarding the Roman border against any future waves of their fellow tribesmen. You see how well that plan worked out...

Those who chose to ignore history are condemed to repeat it.

Max Boot, a senior fellow and military expert at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, also supports the DREAM Act.

You can immediately discount any credibility to his statement due to his employment at the CFR. Nothing but globalist, open borders, SPP and NAU crap from this outfit.