Wonder why this isn't getting any airtime?

Immigration bill offers a military path to US dream
By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff | June 16, 2007

WASHINGTON -- A little-noticed provision in the proposed immigration bill would grant instant legal status and ultimately full citizenship to illegal immigrants if they enlist in the US military, an idea the Pentagon and military analysts say would boost the Pentagon's flagging efforts to find and recruit qualified soldiers.

The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, or DREAM Act, is part of the stalled package of proposals that many in Congress are seeking to resurrect.

The proposal, applicable to an estimated 750,000 undocumented residents of military age, stipulates that those who arrived in the United States before age 16, graduated from high school, and meet other qualifications could immediately enter the path to citizenship in exchange for at least two years' service in the armed forces.

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The prospect of recruiting foreigners to defend the United States has been a charged issue in the past. The Pentagon, for example, has opposed several proposals from leading defense specialists to recruit troops overseas -- a move critics liken to hiring mercenaries.

Using the military service option for select illegal immigrants, however, appears to have widespread support as one way to deal with the burgeoning illegal immigration problem.

750K more soldiers for Bush's wars. Huh.