Revised 12/1/07
I've been hearing a lot about illegal immigrants and immigration lately. A lot of people are missing the point that illegal means "illegal". If you want to allow illegal immigrants remain in this country you need to change the Federal law to reflect their change in status.
We first need to totally and absolutely secure our ports and borders. It does no good to waste time deporting someone, if they are back in our country before the paperwork is filed.
We can then send the illegal immigrants back with an assurance that they will stay there. We've got plenty of Americans sitting in jails that could be out on work release programs doing the work of the illegals.
Next if someone wants to be an American citizen, let them spend 10 years in our military. This will give them an honorable time to learn our language, customs, and to prove themselves. During the time they are in the military, they would be treated as American citizens with all rights, responsibilities, and privileges. At the 10 year point, this person, along with their spouse and children would become American citizens. If they put 20 years in the military, they would received full military retirement benefits, just like anyone else who had served our country for that period of time.
These will not be special units. These individuals would be incorporate into the military just like anyone else, with the exception of taking language and customs classes.
I'm sure someone will bring up the issue of security clearances. There are many military positions that do not require a security clearance or requires a very minimal one. These people would be allow to earn clearances based on the recommendations of their commanders and those issuing the clearances.