Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft Articles from Draft NOtices, July — September 2007
By Jorge Mariscal"The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM, provision in the immigration bill is expected to help boost military recruiting.” — Bill Carr, Acting Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy.-Full ArticleIn early June, a two-pronged media cycle dealing with the issue of non-citizen soldiers and military recruitment slowly began to materialize. Following on the heels of an internal Pentagon study that reported a general decrease in interest in military service among young Americans, the debate about the role of non-citizens in the U.S. military intensified.
"I've been here almost eight years. I feel like I belong to this country," he said. "People like me, we want to serve the country. We love this country. We don't have papers. We can't afford to go to college. The military is the perfect option for us.” − Sebastián, undocumented student from Mexico
In the Washington Post, reporter Brigid Schulte filed a feature story titled, “Why Won't We Let Them Fill the Ranks?”, in which she described the willingness of many undocumented youth to enlist. Schulte’s piece is filled with enthusiastic comments from undocumented youth who are eager to sign up.
At one point, she depicts a group of undocumented workers cheering as the invasion of Iraq begins, apparently because the war would afford them the opportunity to enlist.
As immigration reform failed to move forward in Congress, Pentagon spokesmen made public statements about their hope that at least the DREAM Act part of the legislation would pass. In an article published by the American Forces Press Service, Acting Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Carr stated, “Talk is already taking place to see if at least the DREAM provision of the stalled bill can proceed." Full article
