[en] The reaction cross section, σ_R; of the proton halo nuclei ¹⁷Ne and ¹²N on Si is calculated using an optical potential derived from the solution of the Dirac-Brueckner-Bethe-Goldstone equation, starting from the one-boson-exchange potential of Bonn. The nuclear densities are generated from self-consistent Hartree-Fock calculations using the recent Skyrme interaction SKRA. It is found that the enhancement in the reaction cross section found experimentally for the ¹⁷Ne + Si system in comparison to ¹⁵O + Si, where ¹⁵O has been considered as a core of ¹⁷Ne, is mainly due to the proton halo structure of ¹⁷Ne which increases the interaction, in the surface and tail regions. Glauber model calculations did not produce this enhancement in σ_R for proton halo nuclei