Pentagon Undecided On How DACA's End Might Impact Hundreds Who Signed Up To Serve

Elise Foley
Updated

WASHINGTON ― The Department of Defense has not yet determined what it would do if the president’s decision to rescind protections for young undocumented immigrants leads to some of the military’s recruits losing the documents that made them eligible to serve.

A Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday that there are fewer than 900 individuals with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program protections who are either serving or signed contracts to serve in the military.

President Donald Trump ended the DACA program on Tuesday, and while it will not immediately result in recipients losing protections, many of them could see their permits expire in six months or after without the ability to renew, unless Congress steps in to pass legislation.

The hundreds of DACA recipients who signed up for the military make up only a small fraction of the nearly 800,000 so-called “Dreamers” approved for the protections. Still, they are in a unique position. If they lose DACA, they would be unable to work and likely unable to fulfill their commitments to serve in the United States military. But the DOD has not yet announced how it would deal with them.

“The Department of Defense (DOD) is coordinating with the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security (DHS) regarding any impact a change in policy may have for DACA recipients,” said DOD spokesperson Lt. Col. Paul Haverstick in a statement. “The Department defers to our colleagues at DHS on questions related to immigration, naturalization, or citizenship.”

DHS spokesman David Lapan confirmed on Thursday that the government is still working out how to deal with individuals who signed up for the military should they lose their DACA permits, including Dreamers in basic training and those who are already serving in the military.

“We’re ... working with DOD to figure out what those different outcomes are if individuals during this period have their DACA status expire,” he told reporters.

He said that DACA recipients who had not yet enlisted would become ineligible for military service if they lose their DACA status.

Undocumented immigrants are not typically eligible for military service, but DACA recipients are allowed to sign up as part of a program called Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest, or MAVNI.

The program was created in 2009 to allow foreign nationals to join the U.S. military if they could demonstrate certain skills, most often in language or medicine. (Although many Dreamers speak a foreign language, the most common, Spanish, is not one of the sought after languages in the program.) Since that time, more than 10,000 non-U.S. citizens have either joined or signed contracts to join the military through the program, according to the DOD.

The Trump administration is considering cancelling the program altogether, and it is under review for potential security risks after being suspended last September. In the meantime, the DOD is still processing about 4,000 immigrants ― not specifically DACA recipients ― who are waiting to enlist in basic training and are now in limbo.

Dreamers have long pushed for the ability to join the military in larger numbers, pointing out that many of them are ineligible for the MAVNI program. Now, Dreamers may lose their ability to serve even there ― and they may be at risk of being forced out of the country entirely after six months.

This article has been updated with comments from the Department of Homeland Security.

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April 2015

At an event hosted by Texas Patriots PAC: “Everything’s coming across the border: the illegals, the cars, the whole thing. It’s like a big mess. Blah. It’s like vomit.”
At an event hosted by Texas Patriots PAC: “Everything’s coming across the border: the illegals, the cars, the whole thing. It’s like a big mess. Blah. It’s like vomit.”

June 2015

At a speech announcing his campaign: "When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."

August 2015

On NBC's "Meet the Press": “We’re going to keep the families together, we have to keep the families together, but they have to go." 
On NBC's "Meet the Press": “We’re going to keep the families together, we have to keep the families together, but they have to go." 

September 2015

On CBS's "60 Minutes": “We’re rounding ‘em up in a very humane way, in a very nice way. And they’re going to be happy because they want to be legalized. And, by the way, I know it doesn’t sound nice. But not everything is nice.”
On CBS's "60 Minutes": “We’re rounding ‘em up in a very humane way, in a very nice way. And they’re going to be happy because they want to be legalized. And, by the way, I know it doesn’t sound nice. But not everything is nice.”

November 2015

On MSNBC's "Morning Joe": “You are going to have a deportation force, and you are going to do it humanely." 
On MSNBC's "Morning Joe": “You are going to have a deportation force, and you are going to do it humanely." 

February 2016

At a GOP primary debate: “We have at least 11 million people in this country that came in illegally. They will go out. They will come back ― some will come back, the best, through a process.”
At a GOP primary debate: “We have at least 11 million people in this country that came in illegally. They will go out. They will come back ― some will come back, the best, through a process.”

March 2016

At a press conference when asked if he would consider allowing undocumented immigrants to stay: "We either have a country or we don’t. We either have a country or we don’t. We have borders or we don’t have borders. And at this moment, the answer is absolutely not.”
At a press conference when asked if he would consider allowing undocumented immigrants to stay: "We either have a country or we don’t. We either have a country or we don’t. We have borders or we don’t have borders. And at this moment, the answer is absolutely not.”

April 2016

At an event hosted by NBC's "Today Show": “They’re going to go, and we’re going to create a path where we can get them into this country legally, OK? But it has to be done legally. ... They’re going to go, and then come back and come back legally.”
At an event hosted by NBC's "Today Show": “They’re going to go, and we’re going to create a path where we can get them into this country legally, OK? But it has to be done legally. ... They’re going to go, and then come back and come back legally.”

July 2016

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September 2016

At a rally: “Anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation. That is what it means to have laws and to have a country. Otherwise we don’t have a country.”
At a rally: “Anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation. That is what it means to have laws and to have a country. Otherwise we don’t have a country.”

September 2016

On "The Dr. Oz Show": “Well, under my plan the undocumented or, as you would say, illegal immigrant wouldn’t be in the country. They only come in the country legally.”
On "The Dr. Oz Show": “Well, under my plan the undocumented or, as you would say, illegal immigrant wouldn’t be in the country. They only come in the country legally.”

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