SPRINGFIELD, IL – JB Pritzker quietly signed a bill into law allowing non-citizens to become police officers, in spite of existing federal laws that prohibit such hiring practices.
Detractors of the law claim that it could lead to individuals in the country illegally become members of the law enforcement community, and in essence, allowing law breakers to enforce the law. Other opponents say that it is allowing non-citizens to arrest citizens.
But Pritzker defended the bill, saying that individuals covered under H.B. 3751 would have to be legally authorized to work in the US as well as being able to legally obtain and possess a firearm. “We have the ability for people who are legally here in this country, and permanent residents and DACA residents, to apply for jobs as police officers,” he said, according to the Washington Examiner.
Section 6-3066 specifically states (strikethroughs included to identify previous language):
“TheIt is unlawful for the sheriff of any county of fewer than 1,000,000 inhabitants, or the corporate authorities of any municipality may city, town or village to authorize, empower, employ, or permit a any person to act as deputy sheriff or special policeman for the purpose of preserving the peace, who is not a citizen of the United States, who is legally authorized under federal law to work in the United States and is authorized under federal law to obtain, carry, or purchase or otherwise possess a firearm, or who is an individual against whom immigration action has been deferred by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) process and is authorized under federal law to obtain, carry, or purchase or otherwise possess a firearm.”
Under existing federal law, individuals crossing the border who are issued a deferred, future hearing date, can enter the US and legally obtain employment while they wait for their hearing.
So, illegal immigrants who cross the border and surrender themselves to CBP can technically meet the criteria under the new Illinois law.
It is this potential hurdle that has many people outraged over this provision. "At 5 p.m. yesterday, when no one was paying attention, Pritzker signed a bill to allow illegal immigrants to become police officers, giving non-citizens the power to arrest citizens in our state," Representative Mary Miller tweeted. "No sane state would allow foreign nationals to arrest their citizens, this is madness!"
Similarly, Colorado Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert tweeted, "In the state of Illinois, illegals can now become police officers. Yes, you heard that right. People who are breaking the law by their presence here can now arrest American citizens. You know the other blue states are watching and getting ready to implement this idea as soon as they can! We either address this border crisis or allow our country to descend further into a Leftist dystopia."
According to the Examiner, Pritzker fired back, saying, “I am tired of the right-wing twisting things. They put it on Facebook, they tell lies. There are people out there that think we’re just allowing anybody to become a police officer. That’s just not accurate.”
According to a fact checking article written in Newsweek, the National Fraternal Order of Police also spoke out against the bill. The piece pointed to a statement issued by the NFOP, which read, in part, "What message does this legislation send when it allows people who do not have legal status to become the enforcers of our laws? This is a potential crisis of confidence in law enforcement at a time when our officers need all the public confidence they can get."
The fact checkers describe the language of the bill as applying only to DACA recipients. However, the law says “or,” not “and” in front of the DACA clause. “And” would indicate that all requirements must be met to qualify. Alternatively, “or” indicates that there are multiple avenues to establish qualification to apply.
Detractors of the law claim that it could lead to individuals in the country illegally become members of the law enforcement community, and in essence, allowing law breakers to enforce the law. Other opponents say that it is allowing non-citizens to arrest citizens.
But Pritzker defended the bill, saying that individuals covered under H.B. 3751 would have to be legally authorized to work in the US as well as being able to legally obtain and possess a firearm. “We have the ability for people who are legally here in this country, and permanent residents and DACA residents, to apply for jobs as police officers,” he said, according to the Washington Examiner.
Section 6-3066 specifically states (strikethroughs included to identify previous language):
“The
Under existing federal law, individuals crossing the border who are issued a deferred, future hearing date, can enter the US and legally obtain employment while they wait for their hearing.
So, illegal immigrants who cross the border and surrender themselves to CBP can technically meet the criteria under the new Illinois law.
It is this potential hurdle that has many people outraged over this provision. "At 5 p.m. yesterday, when no one was paying attention, Pritzker signed a bill to allow illegal immigrants to become police officers, giving non-citizens the power to arrest citizens in our state," Representative Mary Miller tweeted. "No sane state would allow foreign nationals to arrest their citizens, this is madness!"
Similarly, Colorado Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert tweeted, "In the state of Illinois, illegals can now become police officers. Yes, you heard that right. People who are breaking the law by their presence here can now arrest American citizens. You know the other blue states are watching and getting ready to implement this idea as soon as they can! We either address this border crisis or allow our country to descend further into a Leftist dystopia."
According to the Examiner, Pritzker fired back, saying, “I am tired of the right-wing twisting things. They put it on Facebook, they tell lies. There are people out there that think we’re just allowing anybody to become a police officer. That’s just not accurate.”
According to a fact checking article written in Newsweek, the National Fraternal Order of Police also spoke out against the bill. The piece pointed to a statement issued by the NFOP, which read, in part, "What message does this legislation send when it allows people who do not have legal status to become the enforcers of our laws? This is a potential crisis of confidence in law enforcement at a time when our officers need all the public confidence they can get."
The fact checkers describe the language of the bill as applying only to DACA recipients. However, the law says “or,” not “and” in front of the DACA clause. “And” would indicate that all requirements must be met to qualify. Alternatively, “or” indicates that there are multiple avenues to establish qualification to apply.
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