Politico
By Seung Min Kim and Jeremy Herb
June 3, 2014
Sen.
Dick Durbin said Tuesday that a proposed Pentagon policy change to
allow some young immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally to join the
military is insufficient
and called for a broader approach that would allow more so-called
Dreamers to enlist.
The
Defense Department has sketched out a proposal that would allow certain
immigrants shielded from deportations under a 2012 Obama administration
initiative to join
the military. Under the proposed policy shift, they would enlist
through an existing program called Military Accessions Vital to the
National Interest, which brings immigrants with certain expertise — such
as language or medical — into the military.
Durbin,
who spoke recently with both White House officials and the Pentagon,
has said he believes all immigrants who have benefited from the 2012
program — called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA — should be allowed to enlist.
On Tuesday, he called for a “grander approach” than what the Pentagon
has laid out.
“I
feel very strongly that even the proposed Pentagon approach is
inadequate,” Durbin said. “MAVNI is not a large enough program to absorb
all of the talent that people
who are benefited by DACA could offer to our military. It’s a start,
but it’s a very modest start.”
The
new Pentagon policy has not been formally released and is not likely to
be unveiled until later this summer, as the White House asked defense
officials to delay announcing
any changes until then. The move is part of a broader White House
effort to avoid executive action on immigration policy — meant to give
House Republicans space and time to move immigration reform bills
through the chamber.
Durbin,
the second-ranking Senate Democrat, said he wants to “stand by the
White House” and leave the next two months free of any executive action
from Obama on immigration,
which is likely to kill the chances of an overhaul this year.
“If
they fail to do it by the end of July, the president will have to
exercise other options,” Durbin said, referring to House Republicans. He
later added that he believes
the Pentagon has yet to finalize the change.
Durbin
has a key ally at the Pentagon in Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who as
the Republican senator from Nebraska co-sponsored the DREAM Act —
legislation that would
have created a pathway to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants
who came here as children.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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