The Pentagon is accelerating its program to recruit younger illegals and put them on a fast-track to citizenship, and the GOP leadership just blocked an amendment to stop the recruitment.

From October 2015 through April 2016, the military’s program inducted 136 enlistees covered by the president’s 2012 Oval Office amnesty, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, according to Pentagon spokeswoman Marine Lt. Col. Gabrielle Hermes.

That’s up from five DACA recruits in fiscal year 2015, she said.

The recruitment is growing even as U.S. Army is shrinking by roughly 10,000 troops each year from 2015 to 2018.

The so-called ‘Dreamers’ were inducted through the Pentagon’s Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest program, which was adapted to accept illegals covered by Obama’s DACA program, which provides illegal with two-year exemptions from possible repatriation, plus work-permits.

The MAVNI program was established to facilitate the military’s recruitment into critical job specialties, such as interpreters and medical professionals.

To block the recruitment of the illegals instead of young Americans, Freedom Caucus member Rep. Paul Gosar (R.-Ariz.) filed an recruitment-reform amendment to the House’s version of the Pentagon budget. Gosar called the recruitment program a “backdoor amnesty,” because it quickly grants citizenship to the illegals.

But the congressman is not a member of the House Armed Services Committee, so he had get to approval from the House Rules Committee to schedule a vote on his amendment. That committee is controlled by House Speaker Paul Ryan, and it blocked Gosar’s pro-American amendment from being debated.

The leading advocate for the illegals on the House Armed Services Committee is Rep. Ruben Gallego (D.-Ariz.). He said he was thrilled that his committee chairman, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R.-Texas), and the Republican leadership sided with him against Gosar and his fellow Freedom Caucus co-sponsors.

“I am pleased that Congressman Gosar’s attempt to irresponsibly revise compromise language that could enable Dreamers to serve was rejected by cooler heads in the House GOP Leadership,” he said. “Dreamers” is the term used by Democrats to describe younger illegals.

“This shouldn’t be a controversial issue. The Secretary of Defense has the statutory authority to allow any immigrant to enlist if it’s in our national interest – including DACA recipients who want to fight for our country. It’s about defense and what is in the best interest of our nation and our military,” Gallego said.

In June 2012, when President Barack Obama announced his DACA program for illegal immigrants brought into the U.S. as children, he blamed Republicans for blocking the amnesty legislation in Congress. But rather than compromise with the Republican-controlled Congress, he directed his deputies to cease enforcing immigration law against many classes of illegals, including younger illegals.

The point of the Gosar amendment was to assert congressional control over military policy.

Now that the National Defense Authorization Act passed the House and has been sent over to the Senate, the question is whether Republicans will go after the Pentagon’s backdoor amnesty themselves.

But the Senate Armed Services Chairman is Sen. John S. McCain (R.-Ariz.), a strong supporter of amnesty. Breitbart News asked for a comment, but his office said it would declined to comment on actions taken in the House.

Rosemary Jenks, who leads government affairs at the Washington-based NumbersUSA, said it has always been legal for permanent residents to enlist in the military on the same terms as citizens.

In a Sept. 25, 2014 memo, Jessica L. Wright, the undersecretary of defense for personnel, asserted that illegal immigrants awaiting legal action through the DACA program are eligible for MAVNI.

“Now, let’s be clear — this is not amnesty, this is not immunity. This is not a path to citizenship. It’s not a permanent fix,” the president said in 2012. “This is a temporary stopgap measure that lets us focus our resources wisely while giving a degree of relief and hope to talented, driven, patriotic young people.”

Four years later the DACA program is still in place.

Jenks said the issue goes far beyond Obama and the Pentagon flaunting the law.

Jenks said the issue goes far beyond Obama and the Pentagon flaunting the law. As the military shrinks, illegals are being recruited in place of younger American recruits, so “President Obama is forcing so many Americans out of the military only to replace them with illegal aliens,” she said.