In recent weeks, House leaders have been looking for ways to include part of the amnesty agenda in must-pass legislation like the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which funds the Department of Defense. Their original plan would have attached the ENLIST Act, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Denham of California, to the NDAA in committee, granting amnesty to illegal aliens who join the military. Although he is a cosponsor of the ENLIST Act, Chairman Buck McKeon of the House Armed Services Committee announced that he would not include the ENLIST Act in the drafting of the NDAA.
McKeon’s statement did not deter amnesty supporters, who now hope to attach the ENLIST Act or a similar measure to the NDAA on the House floor. The Military Enlistment Opportunity Act, sponsored by Rep. Mike Coffman, also has support from the pro-amnesty crowd. This bill would codify Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an unconstitutional amnesty granted in 2012 by the executive branch, into federal law and use it as the basis for allowing illegal aliens to enlist in the military. Either of these bills could be inserted into the NDAA, or even combined to create a third bill.
If amnesty supporters truly believe that their cause has widespread support, let them push for it as an independent bill, not in back-room dealings that use our troops as pawns. If one of the enlistment amnesties is attached to defense funding, amnesty opponents will be forced to accept defeat or to vote against the entire NDAA, denying funding to the military.
Call or email your representative and ask him or her to oppose any backdoor efforts for legalization. Amnesty for illegal aliens has no place in a measure to fund our troops.
Please Stop Amnesty for Enlistees!
I urge you to oppose any effort granting amnesty to military enlistees, including the ENLIST Act, Military Enlistment Opportunity Act, or any other enlistment amnesty.
Amnesty has failed to gain traction in the House of Representatives, and it is shameful to use military funding to accomplish this unpopular legislative goal. There is no place for amnesty in a measure to pay for our military.
I urge you to stand against any form of amnesty in the National Defense Authorization Act.