Author Topic: Pentagon Official: Obama Admin May Allow Dreamers to Enlist by This Summer  (Read 1006 times)

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Offline mystery-ak

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http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/05/19/Pentagon-Official-Obama-Admin-May-Allow-Dreamers-to-Enlist-by-This-Summer

by Tony Lee 20 May 2014, 6:44 AM PDT

On Monday, a Pentagon official declared that the Obama administration may issue a directive to allow DREAMers who have received temporary amnesty under President Barack Obama's Deferred Action program to enlist in the military by this summer.

Testifying at a Senate subcommittee hearing in Chicago on "Immigrant Enlistment," Jessica Wright, the Acting Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness at the Defense Department, said the White House, the Pentagon, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security are working together to possibly expand the "Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI)" pilot program to include DREAMers, who are ineligible to enlist in the military.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the Senate Majority Whip and Chair of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, said in his opening testimony that if Congress does not pass amnesty legislation, the "Defense Department should use its authority under current law to authorize the enlistment of Dreamers" by deeming them "vital to the national interest."

MAVNI was ushered in by George W. Bush's Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and Wright said the policy department at the Pentagon has determined that the "vital to the national interest" phrase is for "very specific skills" like medical professionals and various languages. Wright said that Spanish was not one of the languages that is considered "vital to the national interest" for the purposes of MAVNI because, "we have a number of Spanish speakers within our military." If DREAMers who currently have temporary amnesty and work permits are allowed to enlist in the military though the MAVNI program, they would also be put on an expedited path to citizenship.

Wright also said it was "very important to take a look at the MAVNI program" to examine further what "vital to the national interest" means before noting that she could not tell the subcommittee what that phrase means at this point in time or the various occupational specialties that may be deemed "vital to the national interest."

"We believe that we will have some sort of a more affirmative answer by the end of the summer 2014," she said.

Wright also said the Pentagon "is not doing this in a vacuum" and is talking to the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice in addition to the White House.

"We are joined at the hip with the White House," she said, "because, as you know, our president is very concerned and is also very 'pro' when it comes to reforming immigration."

Wright said it was "very important to us that we are" in concert with what the "White House thinks is important."

Durbin, who co-wrote the Senate's amnesty bill, has reportedly been working with Sen. Carl Levin (R-MI), the Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, about including a provision in the Senate's version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to grant amnesty to illegal immigrant DREAMers who serve in the military.

Such provisions have met resistance in the House. But even after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) reversed course on allowing such an amendment to the House's version of the NDAA, Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA) filed his amendment on Monday anyway.

As Breitbart News reported, sixteen former U.S. military leaders wrote Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA), the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and emphasized that it would be a "serious mistake to open up military service to those known to have violated the laws of the United States" because they have "acted in a manner inconsistent with the oath to support and defend the Constitution that they will be required to swear upon enlisting."

The officers also warned that the ENLIST Act or similar amendments could be used to grant broader forms of amnesty.
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Offline EC

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Can someone explain to me in short, simple words why this idea is a bad thing?

You are not talking about illegals who voluntarily broke the law - you are talking about the kids they fetched with them. If those kids wish to serve, make the cut, and do their term with honor - why the hell shouldn't they be given citizenship? They'll have put a hell of a lot more into society than your typical hood rat.
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Offline mystery-ak

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Pentagon eyeing immigrants who arrived illegally
« Reply #3 on: May 21, 2014, 12:53:30 am »
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_IMMIGRATION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-05-20-17-48-52


May 20, 6:00 PM EDT

Pentagon eyeing immigrants who arrived illegally

By ERICA WERNER
Associated Press

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pentagon is weighing allowing some immigrants brought illegally to the country as youths to serve in the military, a unilateral step by the Obama administration as immigration legislation remains stalled in the Republican-led House.

The announcement came Tuesday as House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, defended his election-year decision to rebuff a narrow immigration measure pushed by a GOP congressman to achieve a similar goal.

The Pentagon consideration would apply to immigrants who arrived illegally as kids but already have received work permits and relief from deportation under a program President Barack Obama announced two years ago, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. More than 500,000 immigrants have benefited from the program.

The Defense Department "continues to examine the laws and policies that address the eligibility of noncitizens to serve in the military in order to determine if and how our programs could be applied to DACA recipients," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen said in a statement.

Such a move by the Pentagon would be the latest example of the Obama administration taking incremental steps by executive action on immigration with comprehensive overhaul legislation stuck in the GOP-led House 11 months after passage by the Senate. Obama is coming under pressure to make broader moves on executive action as the likelihood grows that the House will not pass any immigration bill this year.

Tuesday's developments provided further evidence of the slim chances of House action, as Boehner moved to shut down the likeliest area of compromise on the contentious issue.

Boehner told reporters that a national defense bill was not the place for a vote on California Rep. Jeff Denham's measure offering citizenship to immigrants here illegally who serve.

"We have supported it in the past but trying to do this on the national defense authorization bill seems to us be an inappropriate place to do it," Boehner said. He said there had been discussions about allowing Denham a stand-alone vote on his bill but no decision had been made.

Despite the opposition, Denham testified before the House Rules Committee several hours after Boehner spoke, asking lawmakers to allow his amendment to come to a vote.

"There is no better way to show your patriotism, your commitment, your sacrifice and the willingness to earn that citizenship than being able to serve in our military," Denham said.

But House leaders, who control the Rules Committee, made clear that Denham's effort would be denied.

Denham's bill would allow immigrants who were brought to this country on or before Dec. 31, 2011, and were younger than 15 years old to become legal, permanent residents - the first step toward citizenship - through honorable service in the military. It would apply to a broader group of people than those who've received deferred action from the Obama administration, but Denham told reporters he would welcome any move by the Pentagon on its own.

Denham's bill was co-sponsored by 50 House members, Democrats and Republicans, but an outspoken minority was opposed. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., warned that "all hell will break loose" if Denham tried to promote the measure. A spokesman for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., made clear last week that the GOP leadership would block a vote on Denham bill. Cantor faces a primary opponent in June who's accused him of supporting amnesty.
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Offline mystery-ak

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Re: Pentagon eyeing immigrants who arrived illegally
« Reply #4 on: May 21, 2014, 12:55:54 am »
I thought the military was down-sizing why is this even being considered.....unless they plan to kick out or as the military prefers to say *not retain* some to allow these illegals a place....
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Re: Pentagon eyeing immigrants who arrived illegally
« Reply #5 on: May 21, 2014, 01:37:38 am »
I thought the military was down-sizing why is this even being considered.....unless they plan to kick out or as the military prefers to say *not retain* some to allow these illegals a place....

Well.....that answers the question whether American soldiers would fire upon the general populace.    :whistle:
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Re: Pentagon eyeing immigrants who arrived illegally
« Reply #6 on: May 21, 2014, 04:01:02 pm »
I thought the military was down-sizing why is this even being considered.....unless they plan to kick out or as the military prefers to say *not retain* some to allow these illegals a place....

are they still taking new recruits in the ordinary course of business?

Offline SouthTexas

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Re: Pentagon eyeing immigrants who arrived illegally
« Reply #7 on: May 24, 2014, 09:38:59 pm »
I have always believed if a man, or woman, will risk their life for this country, they deserve citizenship.

That's far more than some already here will do.