[News] Jailed Immigrants to Register for Draft

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Jailed Immigrants to Register for Draft
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=519&e=2&u=/ap/20040115/ap_on_re_us/jail_draft_2>

Thu Jan 15, 1:08 PM ET


PHOENIX - 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


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