On the recordMay 14, 2015
I am here today to ask my esteemed colleagues to stand with me in declaring, Let our DREAMers serve. Let the young men and women who were brought here as children, through no fault of their own, serve their country. Let them serve the country that educated them. Let them serve the country they love. Their ability to serve benefits us all. It provides an expanded pool of willing and capable applicants helping to uphold and even increase the rigorous standards to enlist in our military. The Army recently tripled its pool of immigrant applicants, and DREAMers should be a part of that pool. To those who claim that this is amnesty, I have a simple message. As a Marine Corps combat veteran, I can assure you, Parris Island ain't amnesty. As my late father, a career soldier, told me, serving your nation in uniform is the highest expression of American citizenship. From German immigrants serving in the Continental Army at Valley Forge to over 100,000 who have been naturalized through the military since 2002, immigrants have always been a part of our fighting forces. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
