Virginia Senate approves bill to allow Dreamers to join police

The Virginia Senate has approved a bill that would allow tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants who came the US as young children to work as police officers or sheriff’s deputies in the state.

The bill allowing recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act, known as DACA, to become eligible for jobs in law enforcement, was approved by the Senate Tuesday. It will now be sent to the House of Delegates, AP reported.

Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s press office did not respond to a request for comment about his position on the measure, it said.

READ: How a DACA update can help documented dreamers (January 31, 2022)

DACA provides protections against against deportation for people who arrived in the US before the age of 16 and who have lived in the US continuously since at least 2007.

There are currently about 600,000 recipients, including about 5,000 South Asians in the US. DACA recipients are eligible for work authorization in the US, but cannot receive amnesty and don’t have a path to citizenship.

Several other states, including California and Illinois, have already approved legislation to allow noncitizens who are authorized to work in the US to become police officers.

“There are no better recruits than those who grew up in the community and are also bilingual and reflective of our community,” Sen. Jeremy McPike, the lead sponsor of the Virginia bill, was quoted as saying.

READ: US ‘Dreamers’ demand action as DC court rules DACA illegal (October 7, 2022)

“It would be fundamentally unfair for people who were brought to this country as children and who have lived their lives in such a way that they can meet all the qualifications,” Prince William County Police Chief Peter Newsham said — “for them not to be able to do that is an injustice.”

Opponents of the bill who testified before a Senate committee Monday said they believe only US citizens should be allowed to wield the power police have to detain and arrest people.

Jemny Marquinez, 24, who has lived in the US since the age of 3, when her family moved here from El Salvador, told Virginia lawmakers during a hearing last month that she has no memory of El Salvador, and Virginia is the only home she has ever known.

Marquinez, who has the right qualifications, including a bachelor’s degree in criminology said that if the legislation is signed into law, she would wear a police badge with “gratitude, honor and respect.”

“Being an American isn’t just about being born in the United States,” Marquinez said, but also “loving the flag and what it stands for.”

My only intentions are to serve my community and give back,” she said.