A congressman serving the Central and South Coasts has proposed legislation to allow people in the DACA program to serve in the military.
Immigrants who came to the U.S. as children but don’t have citizenship status are currently barred from serving in uniform.
Democratic Congressman Salud Carbajal of Santa Barbara co-authored the legislation with Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego of Arizona. They are both sons of immigrants, and both of them served in the military.
The bill would also offer an incentive for those in the DACA program to serve. After they are honorably discharged, it would create a path for them to get permanent resident status.
