Shikha Dalmia on How Obama Can Help Immigrants and the Military in One Move
Those who want to disband the American military might soon get their wish. The military is having an ever-harder time recruiting Americans. Why? Because the mainstreaming of punk fashions—tattoos, gauges for enlarged earlobes—combined with rising obesity and ADD prescriptions are increasingly rendering America's native sons and daughters ineligible to serve. (Colorado's marijuana legalization is particularly bad news for the military.)
And thanks to the backlogged green card situation, immigrants who want to enlist, can't.
The Obama administration could use its executive authority to kill two birds with one stone and give the military the tools to recruit more immigrants by offering an expedited naturalization process that skips the green card step altogether, explains Reason Foundation Senior Analyst Shikha Dalmia. But that would require creative thinking that this administration has shown little talent for.