A bill recently approved by the Virginia state Senate would allow beneficiaries of the controversial Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act (DACA) to become eligible for jobs in law enforcement. The bill, known as SB69, was introduced by Democratic state Sen. Jeremy McPike last month.
The proposed bill has raised serious concerns among its opponents. Earlier this week, some Republicans testified before a Senate committee, saying they believe that only U.S. citizens should be allowed to wield police powers to detain and arrest people and, in particular, to detain U.S. citizens.
DACA was a policy put in place by the Obama administration to temporarily defer the deportation of people without documentation who came to the United States as children. A ruling by a U.S. federal judge in September declared the policy to be unlawful, however. Last year’s ruling was preceded by a previous one in 2021 by the same federal judge.
Opponents to the policy have argued that the bill bypassed the U.S. Congress and was implemented to ensure the non-enforcement of U.S. immigration law, specifically those laws related to deportations.
DACA provides protection against deportation for people who arrived in the United States before the age of 16, and who have lived in the United States continuously since at least 2007. Despite the recent change in legislation, those who had obtained DACA on or before July 16, 2021, will still be protected.
Currently, around 600,000 individuals in the United States are in receipt of DACA. This gives them work eligibility in the United States, but recipients cannot receive amnesty and the policy does not facilitate a path to citizenship.
The DACA program has long been controversial. In late 2014, Texas and 25 other states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, West Virginia, Kansas, and Mississippi filed a lawsuit to stop further implementation of the program. In the lawsuit, the states accused the Obama administration of overstepping legal boundaries and abuse of office. It was later ruled by an appeals court that it also exceeded then-president Obama’s statutory authority, The New York Times reported.
In addition, the states argued that healthcare, education and other costs are exacerbated by allowing illegal immigrants to remain in the country.
However, several other states, including California and Illinois, have already approved legislation to allow noncitizens who are authorized to work in the United States to become police officers.
The bill is now heading to Virginia’s House of Delegates.
NTD has contacted state Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s press office for further information about his position on the measure, but did not receive a response before publication of this article.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
