Could you imagine being arrested in your own country by a non-citizen, maybe even one who broke the law by sneaking into your nation? It’s already the case that a legal non-citizen can be a police officer in California. But if a new Golden State bill (SB 960) becomes law, even illegal aliens may be allowed to become cops.
Ironically, this would of course include nationals from Mexico, whose very constitution itself states that non-citizens may not become policemen.
As Townhall reports:
The law appears to be just the latest attempt by California Democrats to not only remove penalties for those who break the law by illegally entering the United States, but open up opportunities for those who may not have legal status in the United States.
SB 960, introduced by Senator Nancy Skinner [D-District 9] … is straightforward in what it changes about current requirements regarding employment as a sworn officer of the law.
As it stands now, California law “requires peace officers in this state to meet specified minimum standards, including, among other requirements, being at least 18 years of age, being of good moral character, as determined by a thorough background investigation, and being either a citizen of the United States or a permanent resident who is eligible for and has applied for citizenship.”
But Senator Skinner wants to change that to “remove the provision that requires peace officers to either be a citizen of the United States or be a permanent resident who is eligible for and has applied for citizenship.”
“The bill makes no distinction between legal and illegal immigrants,” adds Fox News.
“The bill was previously voted on at the end of March, with four ayes and one no. Democratic Sens. Steven Bradford, Sydney Kamlager and Scott Wiener, along with Skinner, all voted in favor of the bill. Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, a Republican, voted no,” Fox continues.
Supporters of the bill, however, deny that it would allow illegals to become police. As Fox also relates:
The bill only allows for legal immigrants to become police officers, a source familiar with the bill told Fox News Digital. However, the language in the bill itself does not specify that illegal immigrants are barred from doing so. The term “illegal immigrant” was unnecessary to include as other sections of federal law already barred illegal immigrants from becoming officers, the source continued.
“This bill only allows those who are living here legally and have the legal ability to work here — through a visa, a green card — to become peace officers. I just want to be clear on that,” said Sen. Skinner at a March 22 Senate Public Safety Committee [meeting].
Yet some may say this seems like, ironically, a cop-out. First, given that our Constitution doesn’t prohibit states from providing illegals such opportunities — and given that only federal laws that accord with the Constitution are supreme — a case could be made that only state law applies here.
Second, if it really is the SB 960 framers’ intent that illegals shouldn’t be allowed to become cops, why not eliminate the controversy by clarifying this in the bill? If they aren’t willing to take even this small step to assuage legitimate concerns, some may wonder what their real motives are.
Perhaps lost here, however, partially because it’s man’s nature to become inured to a status quo, is how striking it is that non-citizens can become police under any circumstances. In contrast and as mentioned earlier, Mexico’s constitution explicitly states that during “peacetime, foreigners shall neither serve in the Army nor in the police or security bodies”; in fact, Mexico bars even naturalized citizens from occupying many positions. For example, very-foreign Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) could never, ever be a congressman in Mexico — but she can here.
Mexico’s standard makes sense. One of the arguments against federalizing law enforcement is that when officers are drawn from the local community — and especially when they answer to a sheriff who himself must stand for reelection — they’re more apt to feel a connection to those they police. To use a popular-culture reference, they’re more likely to be an Andy Taylor.
Yet this sense of being part of a community family is less likely when police are accountable only to Washington (and, worse still, if they’re purposely drawn from outside the locale in question). So it is, too, with having foreigners as cops. To drive home the point, consider something related:
If martial law had to be instituted, would you rather have American troops in your town, or foreigners in American uniforms?
In fact, a good argument could be made for having a natural-born requirement for police.
(This isn’t to say this standard guarantees peace-officer rectitude. There are today, sadly, many “Americans” lacking in Americanism, people who are “philanderers of nations,” to quote G.K. Chesterton. But everything is a matter of probability.)
Unfortunately, our now-common xenophilia gives those aliens, in spirit if not in fact, increasing control over our country. Just think about Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal talking — in a heavy foreign accent — late last year about how free speech wasn’t a concern of his. It’s not a good look (except to globalists).
Or think about clearly incompetent Somali-born ex-Minnesota cop Mohamed Noor, now serving 12½ years for shooting an Australian woman for no reason whatsoever. He’d been touted as a diversity hire.
But perhaps this is to be expected when, as is common now, we hear that we’re not a nation of citizens, but a “nation of immigrants.”
