Immigrant soldiers killed during duty recieve little respect in that their family members can be deported.

“Just how far have we come? Today’s military is primarily composed of kids from poor rural areas (about 44 percent) and kids from impoverished inner-city areas, but one of the fastest growing contingencies in the U.S. Army are the immigrant soldiers. Official statistics show that more than 68,000 foreign-born individuals are serving in the U.S. military and figures from the National Center for Immigration Law show that one in 10 U.S. soldiers who died in Iraq were immigrants. Many of these soldiers have relatives in the U.S. who are not legal residents.

In addition, one estimate claims that five percent of those presently serving in the United States military are illegal immigrants who joined with false papers. In fact, the first soldier to die in Iraq was Marine Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez, an immigrant who illegally entered the United States from Guatemala.

Do not get ahead of yourself; I am not Lou Dobbs. There is no doubt in my mind that the U.S. government should allow immigrants, who are qualified, to serve in the U.S. military.”

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