Illegal immigrant police could soon fill beleaguered ranks of blue city
The city of Seattle is looking to fill the depleted ranks of its police department with migrants who as children entered the country illegally.
"The Seattle Police Department is now accepting applications from DACA recipients," reads a post last week on the Seattle Police Department's LinkedIn page.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, oftentimes known as "Dreamers," are migrants who entered the country illegally as minors and have since taken advantage of the DACA policy, an Obama-era program that allows qualifying migrants the ability to defer action on deportation and gain work authorization in the United States.
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To qualify under the DACA program, recipients must have come to the U.S. before their 16th birthday and lack legal authorization to live in the United States.
Despite program recipients being authorized to work in the U.S., they have typically been unable to enter jobs in law enforcement, with qualifications for Seattle's police force previously noting that an applicant had to be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. DACA recipients also face restrictions on their ability to carry firearms, a vital qualification for aspiring law enforcement officers.
However, the restriction on DACA recipients carrying firearms was disputed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) during a similar move by Los Angeles City authorities last year, with the U.S. Justice Department clarifying in a February letter that it is "ATF's position" that "DACA recipients may also possess firearms and ammunition seized as evidence or for forfeiture if the possession is in connection with their official duties."
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The path was further cleared for DACA recipients to enter the ranks of the Seattle Police Department earlier this year, with the Washington legislature passing SB 6157, which reformed state laws to allow DACA recipients to apply for civil service positions. The legislation was signed by Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee in March and went into effect last week.
The new legislation was seemingly welcome news for the department, which, according to a KUOW report in April, had lost 725 officers over the last five years. That left the city with just 913 trained officers, the report noted, its lowest staffing level since the 1990s.
DACA recipients will now be able to help fill that void, with the department updating its qualifications guidelines last week to reflect the change.
"An applicant must hold a United States citizenship, OR have legal permanent residency in the U.S., OR be a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient," the Seattle Police Department's job qualifications page now reads.
The Seattle Police Department did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.