Press Releases

Today Representatives Jared Polis, Bill Foster, and Juan Vargas reintroduced a House resolution calling on the Department of Defense to allow DREAMers to serve in the military. 

A copy of the resolution can be found here. 

“Regardless of your politics on immigration, we should all agree that bright young people who are willing to contribute to this country by serving in our military should be allowed to do so,” said Rep. Polis. “Our resolution would encourage the Department of Defense to allow them to enlist using existing law. Allowing DREAMers to serve in our military would also bolster national security by helping the various branches of our military meet recruitment needs by drawing upon a greater pool of highly talented and dedicated young men and women.”

“There are many smart, capable young men and women who want nothing more than to serve the only country they have ever known,” said Foster. “Allowing DREAMers to serve in our military is just one small fix we can make to our broken immigration system, but it’s a fix that will give hope and opportunity to thousands of DREAMers while strengthening our military.”

“Our nation’s security would benefit greatly from the military service of our DREAMers,” said Vargas. “For many of these young men and women, the United States is the only place that they call home. As these young people already form a vital part of our society, it is important that we offer them the opportunity to serve our country in our armed forces.”

Background: In 2012, the President introduced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to allow certain undocumented individuals who were brought to the United States as children, so-called DREAMers, to be provided temporary relief from deportation and be given the ability to work here legally. In addition, in November 2014, President Obama announced an expansion of the DACA program to include additional undocumented immigrants. DACA beneficiaries have already undergone background checks and finished high school or received a GED equivalent. Unfortunately, the DACA program does not currently allow these youth to join the U.S. Armed Forces. However, such a change could be made through executive action.