Americans who live in or are visiting the sanctuary state of Illinois could soon see themselves policed by people who are not citizens of this country.
That all depends on what Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker does with the bill, which only needs his signature to become law.
House Bill 3751, if signed, will enable non-citizen immigrants to serve as police officers — meaning they would have all the authority of citizen police officers, including the power to make arrests.
The bill passed in the state Senate in May and was sent to Pritzker on June 16 by the state House.
It states that anyone who is in the country legally can pursue a job in law enforcement.
Effective on Jan. 1, 2024, the bill says any “individual who is not a citizen but is legally authorized to work in the United States under federal law is authorized to apply for the position of police officer, subject to all requirements and limitations, other than citizenship, to which other applicants are subject.”
Pritzker has not offered any indication he will not sign the bill into law.
WRPW-FM in Colfax, Illinois, reported the bill has the support of state Democrats and the state Fraternal Order of Police.
Democratic state Sen. Don Harmon of Oak Park said in May that Mexican non-citizen residents in law enforcement jobs would be no different than Irish and Italian cops featured in the 1987 Al Capone-era crime film “The Untouchables.”
“I’m going to call you back to one of my favorites movies, the ‘Untouchables,’ and the dramatic entrance of the Sean Connery character as a grizzled Chicago police officer who spoke with a pronounced Irish brogue,” Harmon stated.
Harmon added, “There was a time when half the Chicago Police Department spoke with an Irish brogue, and they did not learn them in Chicago.”
The state Senate president said, “This is about Americans today. This isn’t about Irish born versus Mexican born, for instance, this is a much more fundamental question… I would ask you to look into your hearts and look into our history.”
The bill has received significant pushback from state Republicans.
Republican state Sen. Neil Anderson of Andalusia ripped into his Democratic colleagues over the bill.
“I find this disturbing. I find it distasteful,” he said. “The fact that we are passing a law that is predicated on federal law changing just shows where our priorities are.”
According to CBS News, “Federal law only allows U.S. citizens to serve as officers and deputies.”
That has not stopped Democrats in Illinois, nor did it stop them in California last year when they gave non-citizens the opportunity to join police forces.
Beginning on Jan. 1 of this year, California began allowing anyone authorized to work in the country to work in law enforcement after a similar bill was supported by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.