Danbury, Connecticut, will allow some migrants who are noncitizens to become police officers, the Hartford Courant reports.
According to the outlet, the city council voted 18-2 to open law enforcement positions to permanent legal residents and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.
“The standards do not change,” said Joe Britton, a Democratic council member. “Same rigorous background check. Same training. Same qualifications. Same oath to protect and serve. In the Army, I learned quickly your background doesn’t matter when you put on the uniform. Same team. Same mission. I believe the same applies to our police.”
Britton added, in part, that he believes “this vote sends a message to our immigrant community that you are welcome in Danbury.”
A Homeland Security spokesperson told Fox News in response to the development that the city council “should be thanking our law enforcement for removing these dangerous criminals from Connecticut — NOT vilifying law enforcement.” The spokesperson added that an “oath of office is a commitment to upholding the law, not encouraging criminal illegal aliens to break it.”
Britton then claimed that DHS went after an argument he did not make. “I have no objection to arresting violent criminals,” he said. “What I object to is using a handful of serious criminal cases to justify fear-driven enforcement tactics that make entire immigrant communities feel targeted.”
Britton noted that “Danbury is safer when residents trust local government and law enforcement, not when innocent families are afraid that simply going to work, school, or church could put them in the middle of an immigration raid and subject themselves to detention or arrest.”
