Illegals in the Military?

On May 1st, after the rally in support of the rights of undocumented resident aliens, I had a conversation with some of the people that support providing amnesty for those who are in the country illegally. One of them told me flat out that there are currently 17,000 undocumented aliens on active duty in the US Military and serving in Iraq.

He also stated that there were plenty of reputable sources on the internet that supported this statistic. Of course, I had to check this rumor out, so I went to the source, the US Government.

As I expected, this ‘statistic’ is a complete and utter fabrication, a falsehood, a lie.
I do not believe that the person who gave me this statistic was intentionally trying to mislead me, I simply believe that he did not verify the veracity of his sources. I did find some good news for him though, but we’ll get to that later.

On July 10, 2006, Undersecretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) David S.C. Chu, testified before the US Senate Armed Forces Committee regarding the use of non-citizens in the military. Here are some of the statistics he provided regarding lawful permanent residents and the military:

1. 40,000+ non-citizens are currently serving in the US military (active and reserve).
2. Approximately 8,000 legal permanent residents enlist in the military each year.
3. Over 25,000 green card holders have earned their citizenship through military service.
4. Over 100 non-citizens serving in the military have died since 9/11/2001.

Regarding the service of non-citizens who are also not legal residents of the US, he brought forth the following facts, most of which come from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2006:
1. Section 1059 provides for up to 50 “Special Immigrant Translators” to be granted lawful permanent residence Visas for themselves and their families. Though not specifically stated, it seems to imply that this program would only be available in Afghanistan and Iran. At the time of the hearing, the details of the program were still being worked out between the DOD and USCIS.
2. Section 504 limits military service to US Citizens, Legal Residents and certain persons from Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau. However, the NDAA 2006 was amended to read:“…the Secretary concerned may authorize the enlistment of a person [other than one listed above] if the Secretary determines that such enlistment is vital to the national interest.”

This amendment is interesting. It basically permits the various Secretaries of the Military Branches to permit anyone, of any nationality to enlist in their branch of the service, regardless of their immigration status. It could even be read that this amendment could be used to enlist military members that have never been inside the United States.

The Undersecretary said: “According to an April 2006 study from the National Immigration Law Center, there are an estimated 50,000 to 65,000 undocumented alien young adults who entered the U.S. at an early age and graduate from high school each year, many of whom are bright, energetic and potentially interested in military service. They include many who have participated in high school Junior ROTC programs. Under current law, these young people are not eligible to enlist in the military, until and unless the Armed Services determine that it is vital to the national interest as provided by section 504.”

This amendment, if used for what the undersecretary stated, does not bother me for those who indeed entered the United States at an ‘early age’, however, the amendment itself does create a great concern. However, I will be addressing this in a later entry.