He is
studying accounting in the Honors Program. He continues to work two
restaurant jobs a week for nearly 40 hours to help his
family, but, last year, something else happened that was significant in
his life. Kyungmin Cho, an undocumented student in America, was allowed to
enlist in the U.S. Army. The program he enlisted in is called The
Military Accessions Vital to National Interest Program. It is known by
the acronym MAVNI. This program allows immigrants like Kyungmin, with
special skills ``vital to the national interest,'' to enlist in our
Armed Forces. More than 900 DACA recipients with these skills, just
like Kyungmin, have joined the military. They took the oath. They said
they were willing to die for this country and serve in our military. Some Trump administration officials have claimed that DACA recipients
are taking jobs away from Americans, but Kyungmin and hundreds of
others have vital skills that our military just couldn't find in other
places. Kyungmin, with many other Dreamers, is now waiting to ship out to
basic training. He continues his undergraduate studies and works full
time as he waits for a chance to serve the United States of America. He
is willing to risk his life for a country that doesn't recognize him as
a legal resident. He wrote me a letter, which reads:
DACA means everything to me. It gives me the opportunity to
work and support myself. . . . It is with great pride that I
call myself American even though my status says otherwise.
Keywords matched
DACA undocumented immigrants