Illinois Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed a bill to allow non-U.S. citizens who are legally authorized to work in the United States to apply to join the police force, NBC Chicago reports.
The legislation, House Bill 3751, removes a requirement in Illinois that states that one must be a U.S. citizen in order to become a police officer, and will take effect next year.
The bill states 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."
Also eligible are foreign nationals "against whom the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services have deferred immigration action under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) process."
"The goal of the bill is to allow DACA and permanent residents that are already able to work in the country legally to apply to become police officers," said Democrat state Rep. Barbara Hernandez, who spearheaded the legislation, in a statement.
Republican Reps. Mary Miller of Illinois and Lauren Boebert of Colorado criticized the legislation, claiming it would allow those who entered the country illegally to apply for jobs as police officers. Pritzker rejected those claims in a statement after signing the bill.
"I am tired of the right wing twisting things," he said. "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."
The governor also noted that other states, such as California, have already passed similar laws, and that thousands of DACA recipients and legal permanent residents currently serve in the United States military.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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