Military Service fracturing Latino advocates of DREAM Act

Military aspect of immigrant bill eyed
Foes say some grads may be forced to join

By Leslie Berestein
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September 26, 2007
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mili ... dream.html

Legislation that could grant legal status to hundreds of thousands of undocumented high school graduates is creating a schism among Latino educators and others who have typically favored legalization efforts.
At issue is a component of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, or DREAM Act, a bill that could be voted on in the Senate by next week as an amendment to a Department of Defense authorization bill.

Union-Tribune reporter Leslie Berestein talks about the DREAM Act:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mili ... dream.html

The proposed legislation, a version of which was first introduced in 2001, would make high school graduates who arrived in the United States illegally at 15 or younger and who have lived here at least five years, eligible for conditional legal status provided they attend two years of college or serve two years in the military. After six years, those who meet the conditions could obtain legal permanent resident status.

It is the military service component that has landed some Latino supporters of legalization measures on the same side of the proposal as the immigration restriction lobby, which decries the DREAM Act as amnesty.

Those uncomfortable with the military component see the measure as a devil's bargain: On one hand, it offers a shot at higher education and success to young people who might otherwise have to spend their lives in the shadows. On the other, they fear that those who can't afford college, or don't see it as a viable choice, might feel compelled to join the military not because they want to, but because they fear eventual deportation.

“This is very tricky, because undocumented students are desperate for some kind of legalization,â€

let me get this straight, it's ok for the kids of American citizens to be put in harms way but it is wrong to ask these illegals to be put in harms way? ..... they need to be sent HOME!!! they do NOT belong here!! i'm tired of paying for their lazy butts!!

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Originally Posted by Lone_Patriot

let me get this straight, it's ok for the kids of American citizens to be put in harms way but it is wrong to ask these illegals to be put in harms way? ..... they need to be sent HOME!!! they do NOT belong here!! i'm tired of paying for their lazy butts!!

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The value of citizenship in the United States is incalculable. This is the reward the legislation offers illegal immigrants for their service in the military. What do legal American citizens get that could come close to comparing to that reward?

I don't like the idea of illegals being in the military either, not because they don't want to be put in harms way, but because I think most are here for money, not for love of the U.S. and I don't think they would help much to defend this country. Their own country maybe, but not this one. And if they are in the military, and want money, and get their hands on information that shouldn't get out, who knows what they will do with it. If they do eventually become citizens, and decide they want to stay in the military, can they get security clearances? When my brother was being investigated for a top-secret security clearance, the Army contacted neighbors we moved away from when he was 7 years old, they even contacted at least one of his elementary school teachers. Who do they contact for some foreignor? The old neighbors in Middle-of-Nowhere Mexico? I don't agree with amnesty for these people, and really don't want them in the military, and don't see how going to college for 2 years should qualify someone for an honor like U.S. citizenship, and that also just encourages these people to keep on coming over here. I assume the kids who cross over from Juarez to El Paso for school every day will also qualify for the "Dream Act" even though they don't live here, just because they've been lying and claiming to live here for a certain number of years. The U.S. is asking for trouble if this passes. They shouldn't even be discussing this while we are at war. What about priorities?