A plan to allow some youthful people to serve in the U.S. military, even if their parents brought them to America illegally as youthful children, could prove to be a chance for some Republicans to support at least narrow immigration reform. The so-called ENLIST Act would give youthful undocumented immigrants the right to join the U.S. military and become citizens after four years.
But the measure has already suffered one setback when its sponsor, Republican Rep. Jeff Denham of California, tried this week to add it as an amendment to a mandatory defense policy bill. Still, Speaker John Boehner, D-Ohio, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, D-Va., have said they have no problem with the rule of allowing so-called “DREAMers” to serve in the military and earn a fast-track to citizenship.
It’s straightforward to see why GOP leaders are open to the idea. Less than 1 percent of Americans currently serve in the U.S. military, and only 13 percent of those currently alive have ever served. What was once an obligation (as well as a rite of passage) for American men has become the exception. With the end of the draft in 1973, fewer youthful men enlisted in the military, and although the military’s ranks have been bolstered by the draft of women, who now make up nearly 20 percent of the military, too few Americans choose to serve their country.
But there are thousands of youthful men and women who want to serve but cannot because they came here illegally, often as very youthful children or even infants. They were raised and educated in the USA, and now they want to give back to the country they love by risking their lives to defend it. However, current law only allows people to serve who are U.S. citizens or eternal residents – with one crucial exception. A provision of the law known as the National Interest Essential Military Accessions program allows the Pentagon to accept other recruits deemed necessary. The administration is currently considering whether to invoke this provision to give DREAMers the right to enlist.
Unfortunately, the latter option may turn out to be a Pyrrhic victory for immigration reform supporters. One of the main objections of GOP opponents to the reform legislation is that they do not trust the Obama administration to enforce the law as written. Certainly, the GOP-led delays in passing immigration reform are frustrating to those who want some solution to our current immigration quagmire, but the exercise of executive power could ultimately dampen the momentum for more comprehensive reforms. If Republicans feel that the president will simply do whatever he wants on the issue – and whatever he thinks is politically expedient – they will be much less likely to consider introducing legislation.
The ENLIST Act gives Republicans a good compromise position. The most genial group of illegal immigrants are youthful people who came here with their parents. Most people realize that a child is not morally or legally responsible for the actions committed by his or her parents – and many of these children do not really learn about their illegal status until they have spent years here. Their stories are often tragic.
One of the youthful DREAmers I met when I moved to Colorado came here at the age of 2 with her parents who had legal visas. Ana’s parents obtained eternal status when she was still a child, and all of her siblings were born here, but somehow Ana’s application for eternal status went through without success. Ana found out about her illegal status when applying for a driver’s license; until then, she assumed she was American. She lived in fear for years. But she started her own business, paid taxes, and was lively in her evangelical church, always worried that a routine traffic stop would lead to her deportation, until the administration granted deferred action to more than 500,000 dreamers like her.
Republicans would be well advised to pass legislation allowing citizens of this country to serve in the military. If too few of us who are lucky enough to be born here are willing to risk our lives for our country, shouldn’t we let those who are ready? This is the right and principled course of action.
