USA Today 9/23/2010
Alien Minors Act could boost U.S. military ranks
Immigration advocates have long pushed for the DREAM Act as a way to give children who were brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents a chance to become legal residents and have access to higher education.
The less publicized part of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act is that the Pentagon is pushing for it as a means to staff the armed forces.
Prospects dimmed Tuesday when Senate Republicans prevented a vote on a defense spending bill, because the DREAM Act was attached as an amendment. Senate Democrats vowed to reintroduce it.
When the Department of Defense published its three-year strategic plan, it listed the DREAM Act as a way it could replenish its ranks.
