The class of immigrants we need more of

Surely there are better arguments for restrictions on immigration than this:

Critics fear a flood of recruits lured solely by the promise of legal status. "A very large number of non-citizens could change the purpose of the military from the defense of the country to a job and a way to get a foot in the door of the United States," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates restrictions on immigration. "It becomes a kind of mercenary thing."

The "mercenary" argument was used against the establishment of our professional, all volunteer military by the sort of people who see the draft as a "civic duty" rather than as a desperate last resort. It didn't apply there, and it most certainly does not apply to the immigration debate. While it would be undesirable to have an immigrant-heavy military for the same reason that the Romans were later crippled by their dependence on germanic legionaires, having a healthy flow of immigrants into our military would benefit our society. Not only would the immigrants who do this be more likely to care about their citizenship once they gain it, but a willingness to join the military can be a useful way to separate desireables from undesireables when classifying immigrants.

I would be curious to see whether Mr. Krikorian shares this same view about the GI Bill. Given the fact that an immigrant would be risking his life for the possibility of simply changing citizenship versus receiving a large cash grant, you would think that there would be more cause for concern about the quality of people whose primary motivation is a college education versus becoming part of our society...