If illegal immigrants agree to serve 4 years in Iraq to work & help, should they get US citizenship?
540069
No, only after 83 years service in Iraq...smile
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.
1105244
Well, you have actually made an interesting point.  But I am not sure that would even satisfy the bigots on this board. \n\nThat is a fair and reasonably request to make of someone who came here and broke the law.  You want to live here? Then it comes with a price. I am not sure how you would implement it though..\n\nI think making it volunteer is right as well.  You cant force someone to join the military, if they want to stay here legally, they have the choice to join military, as sortof a consequence for coming here illegally.\n\nAs far as bush and the illegals, I think it is a diversion from the real problem of the war in Iraq.  A smokescreen to draw attention away from that issue.  This problem of illegals is NOT new to this country.  Its been going on for years and it will continue.  \n\nThe American government isn't going to do anything about it.  It profits them to keep the status quo.  The economy is helped in many ways due to illegals, even though some will never admit that.  Living on the border I see if first hand. .
416940
Nope.  I personally served alongside some Marines that weren't US citizens.  In several cases it expedited their naturalization process.  In all cases I respected that these men weren't citizens but loved America enough to serve.  I'd be first in line to say that these men should be citizens.
630249
The shape of the guest worker program would need to be worked out in negotiation of whatever the Senate passes to combine it with what the House passed.\n\nThe President's plan would give a 'path to citizenship' for qualified illegal immigrants. (Terrorists need not apply). It is something like apply, work for 6 years (unknown if that starts now or at a historical date) and learn English.\n\nOpponents are saying that it is essentially amnesty, since there is no real punishment, and there is citizenship opportunity.  The President calls it 'earned citizenship'.  Maybe he figures having to learn English is punishment enough. Clearly the illegal immigrants will think so!
760825
if they want to serve in our army to be citizens, come on and join\n\nMaybe for 3 years in the service, you can be a citizen, i like that, you will pay your debts to your new country and get familiar with american cultures
406797
I seriously doubt it! lol, I think if it would only be for those who weren't caught and have a certain length of time working and living here in the u.s. I think the amnesty part may be for the parents of "anchor" babies. (children of illegal immigrant parents). I think the rest will prob. only get a temporary work permit for like 3 years or something, and then they will have to reapply for it again. It's pretty much up in the air as to IF it will be passed. President Bush said that the 'undocumented' workers will have to get to the back of the line when it comes to the immigration process. It'll prob. be YEARS before you could become a  resident much less a citizen. It's not going to be as easy as it sounds.
358681
They should apply for citizenship the legal way.  If you want to stay here then do it RIGHT or go home.\nThey take away our jobs (working for nothing).  I agree buy everything today!!!!!!!
780893
I think Amnesty should be granted to those illegals who have been here for over ten years and have proven to be upstanding citizens in that time, have constantly been working and who do not have a criminal record.  Those found to have a criminal record or are currently in our jails shoud be deported immediately.  Landlords knowingly renting to illegals and employers hiring them should be fined after the first offense and jailed after.  Before implementing any type of Amnesty or guest worker program however, our borders MUST be sealed!!
1031439
yes in legal terms. if you lived here for over 10 yrs you should consider applying for citizenship so you can vote.
906361
I think if your here  in relation to working i think you have to be here for 10 years to be able to apply for citizenship....look it up on home office web site
246997
If you come from Mexico you may have to wait your whole life after you apply.  If you have money to bribe mexiacan officials, you can make the process go faster, but there are quotas and tens of millions who want to come.  So people think, shoud I go across and risk arrest, or let my kids live in awful poverty for the next 10-20 years?  Obviously the choice is not too hard.
508455
Do you mean dies in Iraq, becomes an Iraqi?  I hope not.  Or is in US service from a different country, if the US automatically makes him a citizen?  Neither is a definite.  I have heard of it happening, but I believe that the family requested he be a citizen post humusly.  It might look good for the family if they are trying for citizenship, but it wouldn't be a deciding factor.  They'd still have to jump through the bureaucratic hoops to get citizenship.  Even foreign members of our military now have to spend a lot of effort to get sworn in.  I've met people on their second enlistment (more than four years in the military) who haven't been given citizenship yet but were trying.  But then again, I've never asked when they started trying either.
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.
584711
I'd definitely support legalization for someone who volunteered for combat service. If they are willing to defend this country, the least we can do is let them live here.\n\nAmnesty for illegals isn't fair, and you know it.  It is a matter of where do we want to put our resources, what do we want to live with having done, how effective would deportation be at the end of the day and at what social cost, and should we at least partly blame our government for letting these people get to the point where this is the only home they have?\n\nI don't know how to get something workable out of the Senate Bill, though. I think we may just need to start over.
379078
The big deal about bill HR 4437 is that it is inhumane.  This bill states that an illegal immigrant will be treated as a criminal and that anyone who assists an illegal immigrant will also be charged with the same.  So, let us say that there is a child who is dying of thirst in the middle of the desert, should it be considered a felony/crime to help them?  It it is not so simple to just enter the country legally as you said.  Seeing as how immigrants want to enter the country simply to make better lives for themselves and more importantly their family, they should not be treated as criminals like this bill says.  Now the people who already reside in this country should no longer be considered immigrants, they should be considered and technically are considered residents or citizens based on which part of the citizenship process they are in.  Therefore, these things do not affect people who are legal.  They are not granting 11 million illegal immigrants citizenship, as if it were that easy.  Besides, the government has taken a "recess" and have not formally said anything about this debate.  Just an FYI, illegal immigrants would not just be handed citizenship, they would still have to go through a long tedious process to qualify (background checks, and things of that nature.)
489508
I know that there are Mexicans in the US armed forces.  Actually, illegal immigrants in the USA are offered US citizenship after their stint if they join the US armed forces.  So some of them do go that route to get US citizenship.\n\nSparty - you are wrong - you do not have to be a US citizen to join the US armed forces.