A small group of undocumented young immigrants have been given the fast-track to citizenship under a new military enlistment program, The New York Times reported.

A memo released by Pentagon officials Thursday revealed that those with special language and medical skills would be eligible to apply for the military, said Jessica Wright, the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

The program is only available as an option for those who have received deportation deferrals by the Obama administration. These "DREAMers" are pushing the administration for more options to help keep more of the 580,000 young immigrants in the country.

Only 1,500 will be allowed each year to apply, and of those a few dozen will actually be allowed to enlist, officials warned. The reason is because they anticipate a huge backlog of applicants, and the rules requirements for the program are very stringent.

"This is a first step, and we commend the administration for recognizing the skills and talents a lot of us do have," said Cesar Vargas, a leader of the Dream Action Coalition. "But it definitely needs to be expanded."

One lawmaker, Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, agrees, calling it a missed opportunity. Since the deferrals don't offer any kind of legal residential status to the young immigrants, a broader variety of programs is needed.

The Pentagon considered a program last year, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which would allow recruitment through a two year program.

But the plan that was announced Thursday is an expansion of the current program that enlists foreign nationals with similar skills.

The Pentagon program Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest, or Mavni, was initially open to legal residents who speak Arabic, Hindi, Korean, Pashto, Nepalese, Russian, Uzbek and Swahili -- but not Spanish, the language of the majority of the undocumented young people. It also accepts doctors and dentists with certain specialties.

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