Two significant amendments aimed at increasing DREAMers’ opportunity to serve in the military passed with bipartisan support during the House Armed Services Committee markup of the FY2016 National Defense Authorization Act last night.
The first was an amendment by Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) titled “Enable DREAMers to Serve in Uniform”, which passed with the support of six Republican Members of Congress, including U.S. Representative Mike Coffman (R-CO). The amendment was a sense of the House that the Secretary of Defense should review the possibility of allowing recipients of work authorization from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to enlist in the military.
Section 504 of the Title 10 of the U.S. Code allows the Secretary of Defense to enlist anyone in the armed forces if the Secretary finds their enlistment “vital to the national interest.”
This amendment follows legislation introduced by Coffman last Congress – H.R. 435 The Military Enlistment Opportunity Act – that would allow undocumented youth to enroll in the military and earn a path to citizenship.
"I am proud that five of my Republican colleagues joined me to pass an amendment encouraging the military to enlist DACA recipients to serve our country,” said Coffman. “This is important for young people who were brought to this country as children, who grew up here, and graduated from school here. There is no higher expression of citizenship than serving your nation in uniform. I am fighting every day to give DREAMers the same chance I had to serve this country."
"Estoy sumamente orgulloso de que cinco de mis colegas republicanos votaron a favor de una enmienda que introduce para incentivar a la militar a permitir recipientes de DACA servir en las fuerzas armadas. Esto es importante para los jóvenes que fueron traídos a este país de niños, crecieron aquí, y se graduaron de la escuela aquí. No hay mayor expresión de la ciudadanía que servir a nuestra nación en uniforme. Estoy luchando cada día para darle a soñadores la misma oportunidad que tuve al servir a esta gran nación.”
Also passing on a bipartisan basis last night was an amendment Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX) that directed the Secretary of Defense to evaluate whether DACA recipients could expand the pool of potential recruits for the military and how making DACA recipients eligible could impact military readiness. It directs the Secretary of Defense to report back the results of the evaluation to the House Armed Services Committee by no later than December 1, 2015.
The full text of both amendments can be found below.
AMENDMENT TO H.R. 1735
OFFERED BY MR. GALLEGO OF ARIZONA
At the end of subtitle D of title V, add the following new section:
SEC. 533. SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REGARDING SECRETARY OF DEFENSE REVIEW OF SECTION 504 OF TITLE 10, UNITED STATES CODE, REGARDING ENLISTING CERTAIN
ALIENS IN THE ARMED FORCES.
It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the Secretary of Defense should review section 504 of title 10, United States Code, for the purpose of making a determination and authorization pursuant to subsection (b)(2) of such section regarding the enlistment in the
Armed Forces of an alien who possesses an employment authorization document issued under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program of the Department of
Homeland Security established pursuant to the memorandum of the Secretary of Homeland Security dated 16 June 15, 2012.
Amendment Offered by Rep. Marc Veasey
H.R. 1735-National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016
In the appropriate place in the report, insert the following:
DACA Impact on Military Readiness
The Committee is concerned with the increasing challenge of recruiting eligible people to enlist in the military and believes an evaluation of how recent Executive Actions regarding Deferred Action and prosecutorial discretion for undocumented immigrants currently residing in the U.S. may impact the ability of the Department of Defense to recruit new military enlistments. Therefore, the Committee directs the Secretary of Defense to evaluate whether allowing those who are considered Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals could expand the pool of potential recruits, and an estimation of how making eligible for enlistment of DACA applicants would impact military readiness. The Secretary of Defense shall provide the results of the evaluation in a briefing to the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representative no later than December 1, 2015.
