Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law House Bill 3751 which would give the right to non-U.S. citizens to become state police officers. Many have criticized this decision pointing out that it was a “fundamentally bad idea” to have foreigners arrest American citizens.
Prior to this bill U.S. citizenship was one of the qualifications that was required for people to become police officers in the state. However, on Friday the bill was signed into law by the Democrat governor essentially allowing non-U.S. citizens to become police officers starting on January 1, 2021. Republican lawmakers and many police advocates and groups have opposed this bill.
According to Bill 3751, individuals who are not U.S. citizens but still have the legal right to work within the country will be allowed to apply to become police officers. Non-U.S. citizens applying will still be required to get access to a firearm under federal law in order to be allowed to apply for the police force.
Those immigrants who are in the country through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Act are also going to be allowed to join the police force. Federal law however still forbids all non-U.S. citizens from becoming police officers and deputies.
Illinois Rep. Mary Miller (R) took to Twitter to state that “no sane state” would ever give foreigners the right to arrest U.S. citizens. She added that the bill had been signed by Pritzker at 5 p.m. while no one was paying attention to what she was doing.
