by Ty Bodden
In an alarming departure from America’s principles of citizenship and self-governance, multiple states have enacted laws allowing foreign nationals to serve as law-enforcement officers. These positions are not mere jobs; they involve the exercise of state-sanctioned coercive authority, including the use of deadly force.
Justified under the pretexts of workforce shortages and “inclusion,” these policies erode the meaning of citizenship, blur the line between legal and illegal presence in the United States, and raise serious concerns about loyalty and constitutional order.
Rewriting the Rules of Authority
Until recently, it was an unquestioned standard that those entrusted to enforce American laws should be American citizens. To think otherwise was unheard of. That principle is now collapsing in multiple states, including California, Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, and Washington.
The laws passed in these states extend eligibility to include individuals under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program unconstitutionally created by executive order under the Barack Obama administration in 2012. DACA shields certain illegal aliens from deportation and grants them temporary work authorization, despite Congress never having enacted such protections.
While DACA recipients have federal work permits, they remain foreign nationals who illegally reside in the United States. Empowering them to detain, arrest, or use force against citizens violates the principle that political authority flows from “We the People.”
Illegal Migrants as Officers
California’s S.B. 960, passed in 2022, removed citizenship requirements for police officers. In April 2023, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed H.B. 23-1143 into law, authorizing DACA recipients to serve as law-enforcement officers. Opponents rightly argued that granting police powers to illegal aliens undermines both the law and self-government by American citizens. The New American’s 2023 Colorado Legislative Scorecard notes:
Persons who enter the United States illegally — which, by definition, is a crime — should not be permitted sanctuary or residency in Colorado, let alone be considered eligible for appointment as local police officers and deputy sheriffs.
Illinois soon followed suit. In May 2023, the state General Assembly passed H.B. 3751, which allows noncitizens, including DACA recipients, to apply for police-officer and deputy-sheriff positions. The measure passed with bipartisan support, and had bipartisan co-sponsors.
Supporters claim noncitizens contribute to society and deserve the opportunity to serve. But enforcing the law is not simply public service — it is the exercise of sovereign state authority, which must rest solely in the hands of citizens.
Virginia: Gubernatorial Resistance
In February 2024, Virginia’s Democrat-controlled General Assembly passed S.B. 69, which would have authorized DACA recipients to serve as law-enforcement officers. Governor Glenn Youngkin, however, vetoed S.B. 69, noting:
The Department of Criminal Justice Service can currently offer waivers for noncitizens who are permanent residents to serve as law enforcement officers on a case-by-case basis. This bill would run counter to this appropriate working practice by allowing non-citizens who are not permanent residents and are not eligible to become citizens to be certified as law enforcement officers.
Attempts to override Youngkin’s veto fell short, leaving the measure dead for now. This battle underscores Virginia’s deep political divide over immigration and noncitizens in law enforcement.
Broader Eligibility: A National Trend
Other states have gone even further. In February 2025, the Washington Senate unanimously passed S.B. 5068, authorizing foreign nationals “legally authorized to work” in the United States — including temporary visa holders and DACA recipients — to serve not only as law-enforcement officers, but as firefighters and prosecutors.
Likewise, in March 2025, New Mexico enacted S.B. 364, which eliminated the citizenship requirement for police officers and sheriffs’ deputies. Anyone with federal work authorization may now enforce the state’s laws.
New Jersey considered S. 4017 in 2023 and S. 2439 and A. 3568 in 2025, while the Wisconsin Assembly passed A.B. 51 nearly unanimously in March 2023 (but it died in the Senate). These bills would have extended law-enforcement eligibility to noncitizens.
Such legislation treats law enforcement as a workforce issue — ostensibly to address officer shortages — rather than a position of public trust. Their cost to constitutional governance is incalculable. If enforcing American laws no longer requires allegiance to the United States, then citizenship is rendered meaningless.
Constitutional Concerns
The U.S. Constitution begins with the words, “We the People of the United States,” not “we the residents” or “we the workforce.”
Public authority — particularly the power to detain, arrest, and use lethal force — must be derived from citizenship, the defining bond of political allegiance in a constitutional republic. Allowing noncitizens to wield such power contradicts Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution, which guarantees each state a republican form of government — a government by and for the people, not foreigners granted temporary administrative reprieves. Conferring public authority on foreign nationals blurs the distinction between citizens and noncitizens.
Permitting illegal aliens to serve in law enforcement violates the Fourth Amendment, which affirms that “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.” Allowing illegal aliens to search private property is, by any reasonable standard, a violation of that right.
These laws also undermine the 14th Amendment’s Privileges or Immunities Clause, which protects the fundamental rights of American citizens. Granting law-enforcement authority to noncitizens — especially those in the country unlawfully — undermines the constitutionally protected rights of citizens.
Restoring the Rule of Law
The U.S. Constitution vests sovereign authority in the American people — not foreign nationals. To restore the rule of law and preserve American sovereignty, state legislatures must:
• Repeal laws allowing noncitizens to serve in law enforcement;
• Enforce strict citizenship requirements for all public-safety and judicial roles;
• Reassert their states’ sovereign authority, protected by the 10th Amendment, and nullify unconstitutional federal programs such as DACA;
• Prioritize the recruitment of American citizens committed to the Constitution;
• Reject all federal funding and prohibit participation in federal law-enforcement programs;
• Resist efforts to nationalize or standardize local law enforcement; and
• Promote constitutionally minded sheriffs.
The John Birch Society’s “Support Your Local Police — And Keep Them Independent!” action project is essential to preserving local control over law enforcement. In an era of growing federal overreach, which threatens both liberty and transparency, defending locally controlled police ensures that officers remain accountable to the communities they serve — not unelected bureaucrats — and are best equipped to uphold the Constitution. The JBS empowers citizens to defend liberty by educating their neighbors, contacting local officials, and actively supporting constitutional law enforcement. Everyone concerned about freedom, safety, and accountability should get involved in this critical effort. Get started at JBS.org/SYLP.
Citizenship must mean something. The badge of law enforcement does not merely represent a job — it is the visible expression of self-government.
This article was originally published at TheNewAmerican.com and is reprinted here with permission.