The Virginia State Senate has advanced a bill to allow Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients to become police officers.
Former President Barack Obama implemented DACA to protect immigrants from deportation, but the program offers no path to US citizenship for the roughly 600,000 recipients.
Prince William County Police Chief Peter Newsham told lawmakers he endorses the bill.
“It would be fundamentally unfair for people who were brought to this country as children and who have lived their lives in such a way that they can meet all the qualifications,” Newsham said, according to a report from the Associated Press, “for them not to be able to do that is an injustice.”
Opponents of the bill argued that non-citizens should not have the power to detain or arrest American citizens.
There is also a federal law prohibiting DACA recipients from owning guns.
“There are no better recruits than those who grew up in the community and are also bilingual and reflective of our community,” Sen. Jeremy McPike, the lead sponsor of the Virginia bill, said. There are no better recruits than those who grew up in the community and are also bilingual and reflective of our community. Read more from @AP here: https://t.co/4ByUtZkfRn
— Sen. Jeremy McPike (@JeremyMcPike) February 14, 2024
California and Illinois have already passed laws to allow non-citizens to become police officers.
The bill will now be sent to the House of Delegates for consideration.
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has not commented publicly on the legislation.
