Should we allowed illegals a way  to  citizenship, if they are willing to enlisted and fight for US in Iraq?
605617
I don't think any illegals would just go there and enlist if they may get busted and taken out, but at this time there is something like that for people that enlisted and served the armed forces in previous wars by lying to the government about their immigration status... it was possible at that time cause the tracking system wasn't as good as it is know and soldiers where needed, but I assure you that many will go and fight for the country if you just give them resident status, citizenship won't even be necessary...
993002
First and foremost.... these people DO NOT WANT TO BECOME CITIZENS.  Therefore, they will not join up to pay taxes, etc.  They will just continue to send $$$ home to Mexico. Bush and company assume they want to be citizens, but I have not heard any of the illegals say that.  Just that they are "taking over".  Send them all  back.  No special treatment or deals.
679724
Not illegally, if they want to be here, they should do it the right way and become a citizen.
568175
yes most definately.  if they are willing to fight for our country, fight for freedom, fight for us,  they should be able to live here.
825039
I'm not so sure that it would be a benefit to our soldiers who are currently training, fighting and giving their lives for this country.  If there is a draft you would get people who don't want to be there, who don't want to be fighting for our country and that may decrease morale of the thousands of guys and gals who have volunteered to do this.  There is no shortage of enlistees right now and I think we should go with the ones who have the courage to sign up without being drafted.  I'd feel much safer for my husband knowing that the guys who are backing him up, want to be there backing him up.\n\nYes, there are people who would do great job if they were drafted.  It wouldn't be because they wanted to but because they wanted to get back home as soon as possible.\n\nEither way, we need to support what they are doing.  \n\nHate war not wars, hate fighters not the soldiers who fight!
467805
No! many soldiers that died in Nam were not US citizens. Illegals have to have a valid work permit to join also there is an extensive background check by the FBI before you take the oath to defend this country.
275021
Legal, PERMANENT RESIDENTS(Green card holders) may enlist in the military.  the residency requirement for citizenship is waived or greatly reduced.  They can apply for citizenship I believe after one year, instead of the normal 5. All other requirements must be met.  It is not automatic, but it is greatly expeditited.\n\nNon citizens are restricted from jobs that require any kind of clearance, nor are they allowed to be Officers.   Once they get their citizenship, however, assuming they qualify in all other areas, they may Commission or get get a Clearance.
536011
Some yes, some no. \n\nI think those that have been here for 15 years, can pass a literacy test and swear alligiance to the US and who can substantiate that they have worked most of their time here or are a spouse of a worker I think they should be granted amisty . The 15 year period has to be unbroken. That is no deportations or arrests during that time period. I also feel they must renounce citizenship in the country of origion. Something we don't do for most imigrants but the fact they arrived here illegally I think is justification for more stringent requirements. \n\nFor those here less than that or ones we keep deporting and catching again. No I think we should grant them no amisty. I feel that the majority of them do not want to be Americans except for economic gain and do not believe in the US. Nor that they would have anything like the tolerance we have for them if the posisitions were reversed.  I think they would throw us out on our ear in a heart beat. Often they do even here. Try to get a job working at a place where mostly illegals work. If the boss is an illegal you'll find that the job is not availible for people of a different ethnic group. \n\nI think blanket amesty would be to revive racial/ethnic/religious prejudice in the nation. I think we will fragment along these lines and encourage even more enemies of the US to come here. While the majority of illegals come here just for work. They have been recruited en masse by legals once here by various racist organizations such as LULU. \n\nI also think that unemployment will reach new heights as most of these former illegals will suddenly want better paying jobs that do not exist and be replaced by illegals. With our welfare system already near collapse this would be just enough to end most social services for the poor for all Americans I feel. \n\nThen there is a secondary issue. If we allow these people to become Amercians in mass. It opens the door for relitives to come over here outside of quotas. So if we give 3 million illegals amesty then we have just brought over 10 million other relitives of these 3 million. I don't think the US could survive such an influx of people, especially when the bulk of them will be of a single non-English speaking ethnic  group. Remember legal US citizens have the right to bring over direct family members legally and unaffected by quotas.
193232
While I like the idea of compulsory service in order to earn full citizenship, it should not be limited to military service.  Service to ones country can include, peace corp, volunteer work in under privilege communities, or dozens of other things.  Not everyone should be a soldier, but working in some capacity to make your country a better place to be should be required.
184901
Have them apply for citizenship.
389293
I may be silly to treat this as a legitimate question, however:\n\nTheoretically, I'd say let the Mexican's vote on it. I am absolutely certain that those in power would want to stay there and there would be war. However, again theoretically, if that could occur peacefully, and Mexican people wanted it, it might not be a bad idea. We have been able to leverage our natural resources into taking care of our people (and much of the world's overflow) well enough that people are trying to come here illegally in floods our immigration policy has determined to be too overwhelming to assimilate legally.\n\nIf we had all of Mexico's natural resources, I don't see any reason why we couldn't do the same thing there, after which they might be happy with their own land, and we would all love to visit them. \n\nI like Mexicans, when they aren't illegally draining education funds to support multilingual education to the point where it is impossible to educate my own kids to the level I am paying for as a taxpayer. I think they are hard working, have wonderful family values, and are warm people on an individual basis. I wouldn't mind at all being in the same country with them if they brought their natural resources with them so that we could leverage them to pay for the additional population, at an American lifestyle level.\n\nHowever, we went into Iraq with all the best intentions (I hope), and look what happened there. We thought the Kurds and Shiites would magically bond to install a unified government, and never considered that our enemies in the terrorist world would be so threatened they would gather in Iraq to make life for innocent citizens there a living hell.\nI gave my confidence to our government when we went over, assuming they had more information than I did, and I still thing they did what they thought was best. However, when you remove the lid from a pressure cooker, things can blow up.\n\nIn a theoretical world, I think the idea is possible, if the Mexican's wanted it. In the real world, I think we'd better fix our crystal ball before we try to 'fix' someone else's country.\n\nHaving said that, I don't want our lifestyle to become reduced just because it is better than that of our neighbors. I think we need to set a reasonable immigration policy and enforce it. We can only absorb so much and still keep our culture recognizable. Granted that every immigrating group has added flavor to the mix, I don't agree one group should come in here illegally and try to dominate the home culture by their numbers. \n\nI do not speak of race. I am speaking of assimilation. I am also thinking of a balance of immigration which includes other countries besides those physically closest to us. \n\nSorry. Too long.
950365
I think there should be a compulsory national service of some kind for adults 18-45.\n\nMilitary service could be one of the choices.  Another option for conscientious objectors  should be an in-country service corps (like AmeriCorps VISTA) or the overseas Peace Corps.\n\nNot enough people realize how lucky they are to live in the United States - too many people take their situation for granted.   A national service requirement would change their perspective.\n\nI also believe that an immigrant who served in a national service should be given credit for their time served, if they wanted to pursue immigration by naturalization.\n\n(added 11-20-06)\nReinstatement of the draft significantly raises the "political trigger" for a government to choose to go to war.  If we had the draft in place before sending troops to Iraq in 2003, you can bet there would be a more spirited debate, and we probably would not be in the mess we are now.\n\nAnd immigrants who choose to join the military today can get credit for time served, if they eventually apply for citizenship.  It's a law that has been on the books for many years.
517318
Let us hope not.  \n\nThe question is narrowed to undocumented people and that can no longer be tolerated.  \n\nIf some thing of an aggressive nature were to occur, it would be between undocumented foreign nationals and military (active military, reserves, and even militias).  The undocumented foreign nationals would lose and all, repeat all, of them would be rounded up and deported.  This would be a direct attack on the United States.  \n\nThe fact is the United States needs in people coming into this country to work, but they must do so in a legal documented manner and they will be welcome.  \n\nThe goal now is to seal the border, and that can be done.  \n\nThose who are employers must ensure that all of their employees are legally documented and systems must be offered to these employers so that they can determine who is legal.  If they don’t do so, the penalties for the employer must be very high including jail time.  \n\nA real system for those working here as legal foreign nationals must be developed.  Those foreign nationals who wish to eventually become a citizen of the United States must work to become assimilated into the culture of the United States and that begins with learning English.\n\nAt the same time the United States must begin serious work with Mexico to assist them in building a solid economy with real jobs for their people. \n\nThose individuals who desire to acquire land within the United States to join it back into Mexico must come to understand that such is never going to occur.
3267
Seems like the USA should wake up and smell the coffee. Immigrants, illegals too, are coming here for a purpose for which anyone in their shoes would try to come. At the base, it is survival. Potentially, it's opportunity to make life better for themselves and those they love. Seems to me that we, the US of A, should see that as a compliment.\n\nSeems like the USA, could combine all of its creative wits and develop a way to use all this energy more productively and peacefully both long and short range.\n\nI say offer a handshake, rather than a wall, at the borders. Sign up the immigrants. Let them participate in the work force. Let them seek education. Let them participate in the economy. We're not talking citizenship yet. We're talking about letting people earn a responsibile living. Before allowing them to receive government welfare type aid, require them to become citizens first. If they wish to pursue citizenship, ok, let em do so. If not, let em return to their countries of origin or wherever.\n\nOf course, we should continue to exercise our concerns about drug trafficking and terrorist plots. But, gee! Should it be sooooo difficult to get into the USA to work, visit friends, and visit family.
194722
What do you think we'd do? They can't beat us on their home ground let alone in 48 contiguous states! We'd kick their A$$es! Anyway, we have nothing against them now. I would hate that it would happen but if you were an Iraqi soldier would you want to fight us, especially on our turf? Come on! If it were to happen our Marines and Army would be scraping them up off the bottom of their shoes! I don't mean to sound American egotistical but I do know that we have one of the finest, most well trained military in the world. It wouldn't last too long, I guarantee it because what the military might miss, our American citizens would take up the slack to defend our own. I would gladly become part of a militia to protect my country from things like that. I wouldn't think twice about it. I'd be there next to my American brethren in no time because this country and it's people are more precious to me than life itself, and I'd never turn my back on them.
517020
I agree.Maybe instead of marching in the streets they should have all showed up at INS and asked for permanent resident status or citizenship.Now that would have been a demonstration.
495188
THAT would save the TAXPAYERS billions of dollars!!! Actually, instead of putting criminals in prison,(paid for by US), they should send ALL OF THEM to Iraq, Afganistan,etc,etc and tell them, "you FIGHT for this country, or you DO NOT return to the U.S.!!! AFTER ALL,criminals are JUST AS BAD as the illegals, the taxpayers are STUCK supporting their sorry butts too!! As to your second question, WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE between ILLEGALS (CRIMINALS) and prisoners (criminals)???!!! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, because they have ALL broken OUR laws!!!! They are ALL criminals and deserve to be TREATED AS SUCH!!!!!!!!!