Poll US Military to allow some illegal immigrants to enlist under new policy. Good idea or bad idea? (36 votes)
According to the attached article, a small number if illegal immigrants will be allowed to join the military if they are eligible for Deferred Action for Child Arrivals, or DACA. DACA was based on an executive order passed by President Obama in 2012, which allowed many illegal immigrants who came to the US prior to the age of 16 to stay in the US and seek employment.
Immigrants who are approved to join under the program would join the military through the Military Accessions Vital to National Interest, or MAVNI program, which previously allowed some legal immigrants who were present in the US on a legal visa for at least two years and had a language or medical skill that the military needed. If a legal immigrant wasn't eligible for the MAVNI they would need a Green Card to enlist.
In terms of language skills, it is unlikely too many illegal immigrants from Mexico would qualify because the MAVNI usually doesn't focus on Spanish speakers since a lot of people currently in the military speak Spanish already, such as troops from Puerto Rico as well as other Spanish speakers who were already in the country legally when they enlisted. The focus on languages is based more on languages from Asia and the Middle East.
Do you think that it is a good idea to allow them to join? Or do you think that it would be a security risk to let illegal immigrants join the military?
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