Arizona Democrat Congressman Ruben Gallego introduced legislation to allow illegal aliens who qualified for the unconstitutional Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to enlist in the US Militaryas a pathway to citizenship.
Under a 2008 program, illegal aliens were allowed to serve in the US military. However, that program expired in 2017. Since that time, foreign nationals have been barred from serving in the US Armed Forces. In a statement announcing the bill, Gallego said if DACA recipients can attend college or run a business in the United States, they should also be permitted to serve in the military, something they are currently (rightly) not allowed to do.
Gallego said his legislation “fixes” it so illegals “can pursue their American Dream.” Under his proposal, the approximately 600,000 DACA foreign nationals in the country illegally would be allowed to enlist in the US Armed Forces and any DACA illegal who serves honorably could then apply for lawful permanent residency.
Gallego, who serves on the House Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committees, argued that the military needs more “talented people.” Calling them “very patriotic,” Gallego said of these illegal aliens in DACA that they are “already serving” the United States “in different ways.”
It is unlikely Gallego will present this legislation for a stand-alone vote. Instead, he will probably introduce the measure as an amendment to the FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act currently being debated in Congress.
A similar measure had been proposed to the NDAA before, but it was stripped out during negotiations.
Gallego argued that his measure would also help address the current recruiting short fall. In July, the vice chief of staff for the Army, General Joseph M. Martin, told the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness that the Army would fall short of its staffing target for FY2022 by nearly 19,000.
Yes, this is what happens when you bar over 60,000 service members for refusing to get the COVID vaccine while driving out so-called “right-wing white supremacists” (AKA not Democrats) from your ranks.
In his statement, Gallego argued that it is a “national security issue” to allow foreign nationals to serve in the US military.
