Allowing Undocumented/Illegal Immigrants to Enlist in the US Military

: The US military has been recruiting foreigners to serve in its military forces since the country was first formed. Prior to the Civil War, about half of those serving in the US military were immigrants. During the Civil War, 1 in 5 Union soldiers was an immigrant; and today, of the 65,000 foreign-born men and women serving in the US military, approximately 29,000 are noncitizens (green card holders). While these legal immigrants are allowed to serve in the US military, undocumented/illegal immigrants are not allowed to serve. Nevertheless, undocumented/illegal immigrants should be allowed to enlist in the US military because doing so would ease the current difficulties in recruiting an all-volunteer force, many of these individuals already possess the qualities needed for military service, and the trend in current and proposed legislation is moving toward allowing both illegal immigrants and foreigners to enlist.