Illinois Passes Law Allowing Non-US Citizens to Become Police Officers
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed House Bill 3751 on Friday, allowing citizens from other countries who are legally residing in the United States to become police officers within the state.
Once the law goes into effect on January 1, 2024, non-citizens who are in the U.S. legally and are authorized to work will be given the opportunity to work in police departments around the state. Critics of the law say that it is a “fundamentally bad idea” to allow citizens of other nations the ability to arrest Americans.
The law also contradicts federal law, which bans non-citizens from serving as police officers.
HB 3751 “provides that an individual who is not a citizen but is legally authorized to work in the United States under federal law is authorized to apply for the position of police officer, subject to all requirements and limitations, other than citizenship, to which other applicants are subject.”
Illinois Representative Mary Miller was outraged by the decision, and Tweeted, “No sane state would allow foreign nationals to arrest their citizens, this is madness!” The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) also criticized the law, and asked “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.”
Governor Pritzker responded to comments inaccurately claiming that, under the new law, illegal immigrants will be eligible to be police officers by stating, “I proudly signed the bill allowing legal permanent residents & DACA recipients in IL to serve their communities as police officers.”
The Governor insisted that it was “the right thing to do,” given that the U.S. military “already does it.” Though the U.S. armed forces do allow non-citizens to enlist and serve during peacetime, these individuals are not given the ability to exercise authority over American citizens, or authorized in their official capacity to take the life of an American as police officers are.
Military service is a pathway to citizenship for many non-citizens who are in the U.S. legally. The Immigration Forum explains, “Non-citizens may qualify for naturalization so long as he or she has served honorably in the U.S. military force for at least one year, have legal permanent residency, and file for naturalization while in service or within 6 months of service.”
An Illinois Sheriff serving in Jefferson County, Jeff Bullard, told Fox News that the law will have “unintended consequences,” and reiterated that “[Illinois citizens] also grant us the authority to possibly take a life when circumstances warrant it’s needed to save a life. That’s a huge responsibility and a very trusted position.”
“You’re having a non-citizen swear an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of a state and a country that they’re not a citizen of,” Sheriff Bullard continued. “There’s a problem with that.” He added that he doesn’t believe “just a temporary work visa . . . goes far enough.”
