Paper Summary:

This paper explains that requiring illegal immigrants to serve in the U.S. army would solve two current major issues in the U.S.: illegal immigration and the rapidly declining military recruiting numbers. The author points out that, only taking into account the half million illegal immigrants that cross the border every year, the size of the army could be increased by more than one third by requiring all eligible immigrants to serve. The paper states that the first obstacle to this proposal is not money but a common language, which could be overcome by re-allocating the funds used for huge signing bonuses to teaching immigrants English. The paper concludes that this immigration reform proposal would change totally the dynamics of how the United States maintains its standing army while continuing to keep good relations with Mexico and other neighboring countries.

From the Paper:

"As previously stated, one proposal to combat the massively declining recruiting numbers in the U.S. Armed Forces is with immigrant service members. A vast majority of people do not know that the first U.S. soldier killed in Iraq was a Guatemalan who first entered the United States illegally. He had been able to change his immigration status and showed his gratitude to his adopted country by joining the military and, in the end, giving his life. The U.S. Armed Forces are losing thousands of soldiers, marines, airmen, and sailors every year."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Boot, Max. "Illegal Immigrants in the U.S. Military Should be Granted Citizenship." At Issue: What Rights Should Illegal Immigrants Have?. Ed. Lori Newman. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2006. 29-32.
• Congress of the United States. Congressional Budget Office. Recruiting, Retention, and Future Levels of Military Personnel. Oct. 2006.
• Department of the Army. Army Retention Program: AR601-280. Jan. 2006
• "Faster, Easier Citizenship for Military Personnel: Both Sides of the Issue." About.com, 2007. <http://immigration.about.com/od/uscitizenshiprequirements/i/MilitCitizenIss.htm> 15 Oct 2007
• Gutierrez, Felix. "The House That Used to Be in Mexico." The Reference Shelf: Hispanic Americans. Ed. Paul McCaffrey. Vol. 79. New York, NY: H.W. Wilson Co., 2007. 37-39.

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