Amo Husserl
All Star
State Senator Nancy Skinner says she introduced the bill when she heard about police departments unable to hire non-citizens who were otherwise qualified.
U.S. citizenship has long been a presumed condition of employment for sworn police officers. Most states make it an explicit requirement. One of them is California. But now the majority Democrats in the state legislature are working to remove that condition. State Senator Nancy Skinner says she introduced the bill when she heard about police departments unable to hire non-citizens who were otherwise qualified.
The bill is aimed at non-citizens who have the legal right to work here, such as permanent residents who haven't naturalized or people who came illegally as children but now have work permission under the DACA program. The California Police Chiefs Association supports the change. Like chiefs across the country, they're struggling to find enough new recruits.
But some opponents doubt that this is really about staffing. The immigration restriction group Californians for Population Stabilization calls this an effort to, quote, "blur the lines between citizens and non-citizens." Others oppose the bill on philosophical grounds - for instance, Republican State Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh.