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FIRST ON FOX: A Republican lawmaker is introducing a bill to prevent states from allowing individuals who arrive in the U.S. illegally or are residing here unlawfully from becoming police officers.
Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., presented the bill this week to stop federal funding to law enforcement agencies that hire illegal immigrants as officers.
“My husband, Matt, serves our community as a first responder, firefighter, and SWAT medic. We have close connections to the law enforcement community. It’s been frustrating to witness the challenges they’ve faced over the past decade,” Cammack told Fox News Digital in an interview on Thursday.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez mentioned that a 10-year-old girl defended her mother from an attacker with a knife on Wednesday. (STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
“As a conservative, we’ve observed the entire defund police movement—and now, due to retention and recruitment challenges caused by the actions of the regressive left, departments are so desperate that they are considering hiring illegal immigrants to fill their ranks. It’s truly alarming.”
Along with blocking funds for police departments that employ illegal immigrants as officers, the bill would require that only U.S. citizens can serve as law enforcement officers.
This comes after Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested a Jamaican national for allegedly trying to buy a firearm unlawfully while working as a reserve police officer in Maine.
Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol on March 11, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Federal officials stated that the individual, Jon Luke Evans, overstayed his visa after legally entering the U.S. in 2023. He reportedly expressed interest in purchasing the firearm in relation to his law enforcement role.
Chief Elise Chard of the Old Orchard Beach Police Department mentioned that Evans was approved to work by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) e-Verify system in May of this year.
Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told local outlet WMTW that the department’s “reckless reliance on E-Verify” does not excuse it from its “legal duty to verify documentation authenticity.”
Meanwhile, several states, such as California, Illinois, and Colorado, have laws permitting non-citizens with work authorization, like DACA recipients, to serve as police officers.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy protects individuals brought to the U.S. illegally as children from deportation and who would not have legal status otherwise.
