[raygun]

How do stinkin' illegals get into the military? I can understand legit foreign nationals, as I was one when I served, but illegals in the military? How does one get a security clearance as an illegal? That just does not compute.

[Texas_Jarhead]

I don't like being told untruths. When the President tells me that current illegals are the same as previous immigrants I call BS. They don't come for freedom and most certainly do not come to become an American.

[SLB]

My grandparents immigrated from Russia in 1911. They crossed all the "T's" and dotted the "i's" and became citizens. My grandfather could speak Russian, German, Spanish and English, but he only spoke English as that was what Americans spoke.

[mnehring]

How does one get a security clearance as an illegal?

It is one of the reasons this debate is complex.. technically, illegal immigration is only a misdemeanor, and thus, they are looked at as the 'foreign national'. The law for this started right after Pearl Harbor when tens of thousands of illegal immigrants came from Mexico to join us fighting Japan. Because of the influx of 'illegal' immigrants moved to fight with us by Pearl Harbor, the Senate passed an emergency bill regarding military qualifications in regard to illegal immigration.

I'll look up the detail if needed.. this was all from memory..

[AmeriBrit]

I listened to every word very carefully and did NOT hear him mention the word ILLEGAL when he was talking about the wounded marine.

[AmeriBrit]

On a visit to Bethesda Naval Hospital, Laura and I met a wounded Marine named Guadalupe Denogean. Master Gunnery Sergeant Denogean came to the United States from Mexico when he was a boy. He spent his summers picking crops with his family, and then he volunteered for the United States Marine Corps as soon as he was able. During the liberation of Iraq, Master Gunnery Sergeant Denogean was seriously injured. When asked if he had any requests, he made two – a promotion for the corporal who helped rescue him … and the chance to become an American citizen. And when this brave Marine raised his right hand, and swore an oath to become a citizen of the country he had defended for more than 26 years, I was honored to stand at his side.