Proponents Say 'Dream Act' Could Replenish Military

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 bonuses to enlist.

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

The legislation, known as the DREAM Act or "Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors 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 earlier this year.

The nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute estimated that the DREAM Act would result in 279,000 newly eligible people for college enrollment or the military. In addition, 715,000 illegal immigrants between the ages of 5 and 17 would become eligible in the future, according to the research group.

Margaret Stock, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve and a professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, said that 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. Therefore, many would likely pursue the military option, she added.

In addition, those who enroll in college are also 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 for 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 the Armed Forces with more translators and experts in other cultures.

The United States had more than 40,000 noncitizens serving in the Armed Forces in 2006 on active and reserve duty and about 8,000 permanent residents enlist for active duty every year. The rate of naturalization for the immigrant soldiers has increased in recent years because the United States expedited the process and allows citizenship ceremonies to be held overseas for service members.

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

"It's a silly argument," he said. "If you want to argue for amnesty, argue for amnesty. Just stop making up these fake justifications for it."

In addition, Krikorian said that the idea of using foreign citizens as soldiers is "a little too reminiscent of ancient Rome," where outsiders were brought in to fight in the military without becoming members of the society first.

A few other countries have a long tradition of foreign citizens serving in specific military branches including France, where about 8,000 noncitizens comprise the French Foreign Legion. Other examples include the military force known as the Gurkhas, which are Nepalese soldiers who have served in the British Army for 200 years and the Swiss Guard, which protects the Vatican.

On the Web:

Migration Policy Institute: www.migrationpolicy.org

The Brookings Institution: www.brookings.edu

Department of Defense: www.defenselink.mil