IN-DEPTH: Legislation Permitting Illegal Immigrants to Be Sworn in as Law Enforcement Officers Concerns Legal Scholars

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Through the convoluted labyrinth of immigration law, a loophole has been carved out for the passage of illegal aliens to be deputized as law enforcement.

This new development, according to legal scholars observing several laws being passed to facilitate the process, should be concerning to the public.

“This is the next step in the defund the police movement,” Matt O’Brien—director of investigations at the Immigration Reform Law Institute and co-host of the podcast “No Border, No Country”—told The Epoch Times. “Obviously, the defund the police movement was an absurd notion because I don’t think any of us can conceive of living in safe communities unless there’s law enforcement, so I think this is motivated by political opportunists who are for open borders with an ideological dislike of law enforcement taking the opportunity to reap the rewards of the defund the police movement.”

n July, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, signed House Bill 3751, which allows individuals “against whom immigration action has been deferred by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) process” to apply for law enforcement positions such as a police officer and deputy sheriff.

Comparable legislation has passed in the blue states of California and Colorado.

While this state legislation may not conflict with federal laws, it does raise several ethical problems, according to Mr. O’Brien.

“There’s nothing specifically in federal legislation that prohibits people who are not yet citizens from becoming police officers,” Mr. O’Brien said. “However, there is a Supreme Court case holding that states can prohibit people from becoming police officers when they are not yet citizens because there is an essential government function being carried out when a police officer is entrusted to make snap decisions about the law such as the use of force that have a significant impact on people’s constitutional rights.”

By Matt McGregor

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