Non-Citizens Will Be Able to Arrest People in Illinois?

Written by Brian Wencle

Should a thief be allowed to become a police officer? How about someone who sells drugs on the streets? Any sane person would answer both of these questions with a resounding “no.” It shouldn’t need an explanation, but there are a few main reasons why those who break the law shouldn’t be in law enforcement. The first is that they are either immoral or even worse, they know what they’re doing is wrong and simply don’t care. Either way, their moral compass is completely out of tune with reality, and a strong moral code is important in our police force.

The second, more important problem here, which will become more relevant in a little bit, is that a thief or a drug dealer clearly doesn’t care about upholding law and order. Maybe he or she has a reason for committing these crimes, but it stands that their desire to uphold the law isn’t a top priority. The third and most obvious reason for concern is that the very people who are supposed to be stopping crime shouldn’t be committing crimes themselves. They are committing the very acts they should be fighting against.

It’s obvious that criminals shouldn’t be allowed to work in law enforcement, or at least it should be obvious. But our very own governor, JB Pritzker, has signed a law that will allow certain illegal immigrants to become police officers. You read that right: the very people whose residence in our country is considered illegal will now be able to arrest actual United States citizens. The law specifically says that individuals who are non-U.S. citizens (undocumented immigrants) but allowed to work here and those who are here under the DACA program make up the group that is allowed to serve as police officers. Admittedly, it’s one of those rare cases where the reality is not as bad as it initially sounds. But just because it isn’t as bad as it sounds doesn’t mean this isn’t an atrocious law.

As mentioned above, it should be a requirement for law enforcement officers to care about the upholding of our laws. This is essentially the entire point of the police force, so if an officer doesn’t care about justice or the law, then how can we know he is reliable? One group of people that obviously don’t care about our laws is illegal immigrants. This may seem like a broad and over-generalizing statement, however, when you consider that every single one of them is breaking federal laws right now, it makes a little more sense. This is not to say that illegal immigrants are fine with all crimes or even most, but it does prove that upholding American laws is not their highest priority, and why should it be? Why should they care about laws in a country that isn’t their home? As United States citizens, many of us feel a moral obligation to follow and obey our laws, but it would be reasonable for someone who isn’t a citizen not to care as much about our laws.

These immigrants might argue that they are only breaking this law because they “need” to or because they want to provide for their family, and this could very well be true, but the fact remains that they are putting their desires above our laws. Even if these potential police officers see themselves as “exceptions” because of some kind of “worthy cause,” their loyalty to the job is still in question. If you find it hard to believe that the two things are connected, I’d hope that you’d at least be able to agree that an illegal immigrant police officer would be more lenient towards other illegal aliens. This by itself should be reason enough for barring illegal immigrants from working in law enforcement.

Hypothetically, let’s say that an illegal immigrant’s commitment to our laws wasn’t in question. This is a clear paradox, but let’s say that this illegal immigrant could be trusted to wield the power of being in law enforcement effectively. Even if it could be guaranteed that their loyalty to our laws would be strong, this would still be a big problem and a slap in the face to actual American citizens. If a non-citizen can arrest you, then what value does citizenship have? Citizenship should mean a great deal. It can determine voting rights, eligibility for public office, the types of jobs one can have, and other various benefits one can access. If we begin to make these available for everyone who successfully traverse our borders, which is slowly but surely happening, then there is no value in calling yourself a citizen. It may make some people feel good to give illegal immigrants the same rights as citizens. It can feel like you’re helping underprivileged people gain a better life, but when we fall for this trap, we unknowingly destroy the barriers between us and other countries.

The Left has been working tirelessly to erase our borders and the distinction between citizens and non-citizens. If they succeed, our nation will cease to exist in a certain way. Obviously, we’ll still have the land and the borders, but the borders won’t mean anything, and the culture we have now will certainly be cheapened and muddied. If anyone can simply waltz into our country and declare themselves to have all the benefits that citizens have, then being a citizen means nothing, and if being a citizen means nothing, then our country’s very purpose is called into question. The attack on our borders has been bad enough, but now the Left is trying to dilute what it means to be an American.

They must be stopped if we want our country to remain intact.