Monday, May 7, 2012

Unconscionability

The Selective Service (and the draft) in the United States is not
limited to citizens. Today, non-citizen males of appropriate age in
the United States, who are permanent residents (holders of Green
Cards), seasonal agricultural workers, refugees, parolees, asylees,
and even illegal immigrants, are required to register with the
Selective Service System. Refusal to do so is grounds for denial of a
future citizenship application. In addition, immigrants who seek to
naturalize as citizens must, as part of the Oath of Citizenship, swear
to the following:

... that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when
required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the
armed forces of the United States when required by the law; that I
will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when
required by the law;

Since 1975, USCIS has allowed the oath to be taken without the
clauses: ". . .that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States
when required by law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the
Armed Forces of the United States when required by law...."

Non-citizens who serve in the United States military enjoy several
naturalization benefits which are unavailable to non-citizens who do
not, such as a waiver of application fees. Permanent resident aliens
who die while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces may be naturalized
posthumously, which may be beneficial to surviving family members.
---
The Selective Service registration form states that failure to
register is a felony punishable by up to five years imprisonment or a
$250,000 fine. In practice, no one has been prosecuted for failure to
comply with draft registration since 1986,[62] in part because
prosecutions of draft resisters proved counter-productive for the
government, and in part because of the difficulty of proving that
noncompliance with the law was "knowing and willful." Many people do
not register at all, register late, or change addresses without
notifying the Selective Service System. Not registering can
(technically) also lead to loss of federal employment, sometimes after
the registration window has already passed. However, only a few of
such cases have been reported so far. Refusing to register can also
cause a loss of eligibility for federal financial aid for college.

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