Immigration Reform 2014: Obama Delays Citizenship Plan For Dreamers In Military

The New York Times reported on Monday that the Obama administration would delay a plan which would create a path to citizenship for some Dreamers who want to enlist in the military and who have already received protection from deportation and work permits under the program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The decision is part of the administration’s effort to put the brakes on proposed forms of executive action on immigration and set up this summer as the last chance for House Republicans to pass a comprehensive legislative reform.

Over 550,000 Dreamers, or young undocumented immigrants brought to the country by their parents, have been accepted to DACA. Some have served in the military already, despite their current lack of status – in fact, being an honorably discharged veteran is one of the (less common) ways applicants can prove eligibility. The delayed proposal would explicitly allow DACA recipients to join the military – and later gain citizenship – by adding them to the list of noncitizens who can serve under the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) program. But MAVNI is only open to noncitizens who have legal status and who are judged to have “vital” medical or linguistic skills; as such, the number of DACA recipients who would be accepted to the program is estimated to be no more than a handful.

Immigrant advocates have increasingly targeting the president in recent months, urging him to bring a halt to deportations as House Republicans look unlikely to move on the issue. Last week, Senate Democrats and several immigrant-advocate allies agreed to re-focus that pressure on House Republicans in hopes that they might pass legislation before the August recess. A spokesman from the White House told the Associated Press that the move was designed to “leave no stone unturned to make sure the House takes that opportunity, follows the Senate's lead and takes action."