WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- The U.S. Defense Department has begun a pilot program in New York to recruit temporary immigrants, giving them a short cut to citizenship, officials said. The military goal is to recruit 1,000 people across the country in the first year, The New York Times reports. Recruiters in New York hope to convince 550 speakers of critical foreign languages like Urdu and Arabic to sign up.
A second goal is to recruit 300 doctors, nurses and other medical workers.
Immigrants with permanent resident visas can already enlist. The new program would not be open to illegal immigrants but is aimed at those with temporary work visas.
Officials said they hope the program will increase education and skill levels in the military. While the economic slump has been a boon for military recruitment, the Army in particular has been taking enlistees in recent years who lack high school diplomas and have other problems.
"The American Army finds itself in a lot of different countries where cultural awareness is critical," said Lt. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, in charge of recruitment for the Army. "There will be some very talented folks in this group."
Poster Comment:
I wonder if there are some Israeli art students or movers who might still be kicking around stateside with temp visas who could be rounded up and "encouraged" to join our military and go to the front lines of 2 wars being waged on Israel's behalf. Israelis are well versed in Arabic and Farsi languages.