(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Amidst massive U.S. military recruiting shortfalls, Illinois’ Democratic U.S. Senators are pushing to allow illegal immigrants to serve in the armed forces.
“My colleague from Illinois [Sen. Tammy Duckworth] has a bill that says if you’re an undocumented person in this country and you can pass the background test and the like, you can serve in our military. And if you do it honorably, we will make you citizens of the United States,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said on the Senate floor Monday.
“Do we need that? Do you know what the recruiting numbers are at the Army, Navy and Air Force? They can’t find enough people. And there are undocumented people who want to serve this country. Should we give them the chance? I think we should.”
Durbin is correct that there’s a massive shortage of military recruits. The Army reportedly fell more than 15,000 recruits short of its target of 60,000 in 2022.
However, critics were quick to blast Durbin for wanting to defend the U.S. with people who may have loyalties to other countries. Some suggested that Durbin and other Democrats are intentionally trying to build a military that has no loyalty to native Americans.
And there it is – Sen Dick Durbin is finally revealing their grand plan
Flood the country with illegal aliens, enlist them in the military, and make them citizens
The part he isn’t disclosing is who the Marxists will use the alien soldiers against..
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) December 4, 2023
Duckworth and Durbin’s plan has been proposed before.
Last year, Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., reportedly pitched a bill that that would allow participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to enlist in the military and ultimately obtain citizenship. That bill didn’t make it out of the House.
“We need more talented people in the military,” Gallego said at the time. “These are a population of people that are already serving their country in different ways. They’re very patriotic.”
While Democrats are pushing to fill the military with migrants, others have made alternative proposals to address recruitment shortfalls.
For instance, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., proposed an amendment in June to the National Defense Authorization Act that would abolish cannabis testing for members of the military.
“Our military is facing a recruitment and retainment crisis unlike any other time in American history,” Gaetz reportedly said.
“I do not believe that prior use of cannabis should exclude Americans from enlisting in the armed forces. We should embrace them for stepping up to serve our country.”
According to the New York Times, 4,710 recruits failed their entry drug tests in 2022, a nearly 33% increase from 2020—a trend partly attributable to cannabis becoming legal in more states. The Army has also reportedly attributed the proliferation of non-psychedelic products such as CBD and hemp products as part of the problem.
“A single use of some hemp products may result in a positive drug test result for THC,” Army spokesperson Matt Leonard told the Military Times last year.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
