Rep. Mo Brooks (Ala.) is trying to rally his fellow Republicans to support his legislation that would eliminate language in the annual defense policy bill that could lead to illegal immigrants serving in the military.
“As America’s military downsizes, there are a limited number of enlistment opportunities for American citizens. Each time an illegal alien takes an enlistment opportunity, an America or lawful immigrant loses an enlistment opportunity. The ratio is one-to-one. Period. That is math,” Brooks said Thursday in a “Dear Colleague” letter to House GOP members.
{mosads}He said that, even though he has voted for every National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) since he joined Congress, “I cannot and will not vote to undermine America’s national security.”
The last-minute lobbying comes as the full House gets ready to debate the massive $612 billion policy blueprint that sets spending levels for all Pentagon programs and initiatives.
Late Wednesday night, the House Rules Committee voted along party lines to allow 135 amendments to the fiscal 2016 NDAA, including the measure by Brooks.
The amendment would strike a provision by Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) that encourages the secretary of Defense to review allowing recipients of President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to serve in the armed forces.
Brooks and other conservatives have warned that the text could threaten the passage of the measure, which Congress has approved for 53 consecutive years.
In his letter, the Alabama lawmaker repeated several points of the argument he made before the Rules Committee, especially about the existing provision’s potential impact on jobs.
Brooks also noted that conservative groups Heritage Action and NumbersUSA are “scoring” the floor vote on Gallego’s proposal.
“Today’s vote to strip the Gallego amendment from the NDAA boils down to one question. Do you support and represent illegal aliens or do you support and represent Americans?” he asked.