H.R. 2377 - The ENLIST Act
On 5/20/2014 the House Rules committee considered which amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would be ruled in order. Ultimately, the ENLIST Act was not included as an amendment that was in order for NDAA and therefore it will not receive an up/down vote on the floor of the House.
Additionally, Rep. Denham signaled that he would want the administration to act on this issue if Congress fails to do so: "I think the Department of Defense has the ability to do this today. And if the military takes the position that they want the best and brightest, and these men and women meet that criteria, then I think it's something the Department of Defense is willing and able to do."
House Speaker John Boehner also said that "there have been discussions" about allowing a standalone vote on the ENLIST Act in the House of Representatives, rather than as an amendment to NDAA.
On 5/19/2014 Rep. Denham filed the ENLIST Act as an amendment to the NDAA with Rep. Duckworth (D-IL) as a cosponsor.
On 5/16/2014 Doug Heye, spokesman for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, said: "No proposed ENLIST amendments to NDAA will be made in order."
On 6/14/13 Rep. Denham (R-CA) introduced H.R. 2377, the Encourage New Legalized Immigrants to Start Training (ENLIST) Act.
Other AILA Resources
- AILA Advocacy Director Greg Chen’s Testimony for the 5/19/2014 Senate Appropriations Field Hearing on Immigrant Enlistment in the Military
- Find out more information about AILA’s Military Assistance Program (MAP), a collaborative effort between AILA and the Legal Assistance Offices of the United States military Judge Advocate General's Corps. (AILA Doc. No. 07121379.)