Two
Republican legislators, Representatives Dave Steffen (Green Bay) and John Macco
(Ledgeview) are seeking to change a Wisconsin law to allow illegal aliens that
have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to become
police officers. Under current state law, illegal aliens are ineligible to
become police officers.
Currently in
Wisconsin, deputy sheriffs or municipal officers are required to be U.S.
citizens. To carry out their duties, the
officers must take an oath of office which requires them to enforce the law and
protect the constitutional rights of all in their community. DACA illegal
aliens cannot in good faith take this oath of office because they continuously
reside in the United States in violation of the law. Granting DACA to illegal aliens
does not change their status whatsoever: It simply defers their removal and grants them
work documents.
Besides, it
would be inappropriate for DACA illegal aliens to take an oath of office which
requires them to enforce the law. How
can individuals whose mere presence in this country violates federal law take
an oath to uphold it in good faith?
The public
must be confident that the officers who are sworn to protect them and uphold
the law are upstanding citizens in the community. If the public knows that
their police department hires DACA illegal aliens, it may give them less faith
that the laws would be fairly enforced.
Furthermore,
hiring DACA illegal aliens as police officers charged to serve and protect the
community sends the wrong message to legal immigrants. Legal immigrants spend thousands of dollars
and wait many years to come to the United States. Hiring DACA illegal aliens tells legal
immigrants that we do not care if our laws are violated. It says that cheating the system and not abiding
by the law will be rewarded.
Representatives
Steffen and Macco justify their intent to change the law so that DACA illegal
aliens can be hired as law enforcement officers claiming it will bring diversity to the
police force. However, there are many laws on the books that already encourage
diverse hiring practices. A feel good
measure that undermines the public trust does nothing to encourage legal
immigrants who have become naturalized citizens to join the force. With more than one million legal immigrants
entering the U.S. on any given year, there are better ways to bring diversity
to law enforcement.
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