Friday saw the signing of legislation allowing foreign nationals in the state to work as police officers. Governor J.B. Pritzker (D-IL).
One of the 130 pieces of legislation Pritzker signed on Friday was the one that certain police organizations, like the Fraternal Order of Police, opposed. Foreign nationals will now be permitted to work as police officers in the state right away.
The law, HB3751, states that foreign nationals who “are legally authorized under federal law to work in the United States” or any foreign national who “is an individual against whom immigration action has been deferred by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) process” may apply to work as a police officer in the state.
After the state House enacted the law earlier this year, the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) denounced it.
“What message does this legislation send when it allows people who do not have legal status to become the enforcers of our laws?” the group said in a statement. “This is a potential crisis of confidence in law enforcement at a time when our officers need all the public confidence they can get.”
Sen. Chapin Rose of Illinois stated during the bill’s discussion that allowing non-citizens to make arrests of American citizens would be a “fundamental breach” of democracy.
“It’s just a fundamentally bad idea,” Rose said in May. “I don’t care where this individual is from. Australia — they should not be able to arrest a United States citizen on United States soil.”
As the state and significant metro regions like Chicago have pursued policies that are mostly opposed by police, Illinois has been experiencing a lack of police officers.
Pritzker also approved a number of contentious laws, one of which mandated that state agencies include “non-binary” or “gender non-conforming” categories in employment reports.
This week’s legislation also targets crisis pregnancy centers. The new law enables the attorney general of Illinois to look into a claim of consumer fraud against crisis pregnancy clinics that are allegedly engaging in dishonest business activities.
The regulation primarily targets pro-life organizations that assert a link between abortion and infertility or breast cancer.
Mary Kate Zander, executive director of Right to Life, claimed that the legislation was “politically motivated” and “totally unsubstantiated.”
The Thomas More Society, a pro-religious liberty and pro-free speech law firm, launched a lawsuit against the bill on Thursday.
“This law is a blatant attempt to chill and silence pro-life speech under the guise of ‘consumer protection,’” said Peter Breen, Thomas More Society executive vice president and head of litigation. “Pregnancy help ministries provide real options and assistance to women and families in need, but instead of the praise they deserve, pro-abortion politicians are targeting these ministries with $50,000 fines and injunctions solely because of their pro-life viewpoint.”
Leave a Comment