- PHOENIX (AP) -- Maricopa
County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who gained notoriety for putting inmates on
chain gangs and issuing them striped uniforms and pink underwear, has now
ordered all undocumented immigrants currently in jail to register for the
draft.
-
- About 500 undocumented immigrants housed in the Phoenix-area
county's jail system have not complied with a 1980 federal law that requires
all men between the ages of 18 and 26 to register for the draft, regardless
of their immigration status, Arpaio said.
-
- "I can't say that I've ever heard anything like
this, but we do appreciate any effort toward compliance," said Dan
Amon, a spokesman for the Selective Service System in Washington, D.C.
-
- He said Arpaio may be doing the undocumented immigrants
a favor by ordering them to register, because Selective Service is tied
to a number of benefits, including citizenship.
-
- If they want to legalize their immigration status, the
first thing they would be asked is whether they are registered for the
draft, Amon said.
-
- The United States hasn't had a draft since 1973. Registration
was reinstated in 1980, and the law still requires that males who are U.S.
citizens or resident aliens register within 30 days of their 18th birthdays.
-
- Copyright © 2004 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority
of The Associated Press.
-
- http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=
519&e=2&u=/ap/20040115/ap_on_re_us/jail_draft_2
|
