Conservatives were enraged after a journalist in Illinois recorded an interaction with a police officer who was not a US citizen and was merely in the country on a work authorization visa. Such was possible because Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed HB3751, effective Jan. 1, 2024, which removed U.S. citizenship as a requirement for police officers.
For context, Non-citizens legally authorized to work in the U.S. (including DACA recipients) and able to possess firearms may now apply, subject to all other qualifications. Many conservative critics, including Republican lawmakers and the Fraternal Order of Police, condemn the new law as “madness,” warning that it erodes public trust and allows foreign nationals or undocumented immigrants to arrest American citizens.
Announcing the findings in a post to social media, a prominent influencer said, “🚨 INFURIATING: They made a NON-CITIZEN a police officer in JB Pritzker’s Illinois. ‘You haven’t even sworn allegiance to our country yet and yet we’re giving you a firearm.’ The Democrat Party is evil.”
Reacting to a brief interaction with one such officer, a courageous conservative journalist said, “What’s crazy about this is, I don’t know anything about him, other than he loves America. The problem is he’s not even a citizen, so he can’t own a firearm legally in our country!”
Building on that, the journalist exclaimed that though the alien couldn’t even own a firearm in America, he had been given one by the state of Illinois, saying, but he’s being given a firearm by the state of Illinois as a police officer in the state! And apparently, they just all you have to have is work authorization in this state.”
Continuing to exclaim, the reporter stated, “That is insane. You haven’t even sworn allegiance to our country yet, and yet we’re giving you a firearm. Now, this guy may be a great guy, but how many others are working in our country as police officers?”
Watch the clip here:
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At the time the shortsighted bill was passed, several prominent conservatives blasted the decision. Reacting to the bill, Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) stated, “No sane state would allow foreign nationals to arrest their citizens… this is madness!” Likesiwe, State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-IL said, “A fundamentally bad idea… They should not be able to arrest a United States citizen on United States soil.”
Echoing her comments, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) summarized the disgust felt by many conservatives. “In the state of Illinois, illegals can now become police officers… People who are breaking the law by their presence here can now arrest American citizens” she noted.
Similarly, the Fraternal Order of Police expressed their annoyance, saying, “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.”
However, woke Illinois Democrats disputed this characterization. The infamous Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) whined, “I am tired of the right-wing twisting things… There are people out there that think we’re just allowing anybody to become a police officer. That’s just not accurate.” Echoing these callous remarks, Rep. Barbara Hernandez (D) called the new bill a “natural progression” after the federal government allowed for some illegal immigrants to work in healthcare and the military.
Featured image from embedded video