Two members of Congress who were West Point classmates and later reconnected on Capitol Hill are looking to provide avenues for immigrants to gain citizenship while also building up recruitment for the military.
Reps. Pat Ryan (D-NY) and John James (R-MI) introduced the “Courage to Serve Act” on Friday, which provides an expedited path to citizenship for “qualified and vetted migrants” who serve in the military.
“The legislation addresses two challenges facing the United States: an influx of migrants looking to work, build a better life for their families, and contribute to our country, as well as a recruitment crisis within the ranks of our Armed Forces,” according to a release first shared with the Washington Examiner.
Ryan said in a statement on the Courage to Serve Act that he and James know “firsthand” that there is “no higher honor than serving your country in uniform.”
“If folks have the courage to raise their right hand, swear an oath to protect and defend this nation, and put their lives on the line, then they sure as hell deserve the opportunity to become an American citizen,” Ryan said.
Ryan is one of a select few House Democrats who has repeatedly attempted to work across the aisle with House Republicans to solve the border crisis. The New York Democrat, considered to be one of the most vulnerable party members this election cycle, has supported multiple bipartisan actions this year, frequently joining his home-state Republicans in calling the immigrant surge in New York “untenable.”
The Courage to Serve Act is the latest piece of legislation that Ryan has either led or joined with Republicans to sponsor. He pushed to combat the flow of fentanyl into the nation by being the lead Democratic co-sponsor for the Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act, a piece of pending border legislation, which passed the House in July and is pending in the Senate.
James and Ryan’s bill comes after a tumultuous week in Washington in which Senate Republicans struck down a $118 billion bipartisan border security bill. Both Senate and House GOP members had vocally disparaged the legislation all week.
Ryan said that even though “partisan posturing” prevented the passing of significant immigration reform, “I’m not giving up the fight.”
“I’ll keep pushing every day for concrete, practical, and actionable measures to secure our border, address critical military recruiting shortfalls, and help immigrants already in this country build a better life for their families,” the New York Democrat added.
The legislation would create a pilot program for immigrants to receive an expedited path to citizenship in exchange for military service if they successfully complete multiple U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and FBI background checks. They also must be admissible to the U.S. and otherwise eligible to enlist in the armed forces.
The Courage to Serve Act also aims to improve military recruitment challenges that James said led to “serious threats to national security.”
“In fact, in 2022, the Army missed its recruiting goal by 25%. To combat this concerning trend, and give heroic and America-loving immigrants a chance to gain citizenship, I am proud to sponsor the Courage to Serve Act,” James said in a statement.
The legislators also noted that the expected recruiting personnel shortfall was 10,000 in the Army, 10,000 in the Air Force, and 6,000 in the Navy. Military services collectively missed recruiting goals by nearly 41,000 recruits in fiscal 2023, according to the Defense Department.
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The Michigan congressman noted that some of the “heroes” Ryan and James served with in Iraq were immigrants, “and I can’t think of a more deserving person to become an American citizen than immigrants” willing to serve in the military.
“Immigration is both an economic and moral imperative, and giving specific America-loving immigrants who want to serve the country the chance to become citizens is a no-brainer,” James said.
