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As the United States experiences a record number of migrant encounters at the southern border, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore says his Department is taking the nationwide lead on a unique immigration challenge: allowing non-citizen DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients who become sworn officers the ability to carry a firearm full-time.
On Tuesday, Moore said the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners "unanimously approved" the outline of a policy that would allow DACA recipients the capacity to carry a firearm off the job, which has been largely prohibited by law because DACA recipients are not United States citizens.
"We’ve worked closely with the Department of Justice at the state and federal level to express the fact that we desire to form a model policy that we think meets this moment and is the state of the law and provisions of immigration policy in the United States," Moore said.
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LAPD tells Fox News the proposed policy has not been finalized and could take weeks or months to become official.
The topic of DACA recipients working as police officers is complicated and raises many legal and safety questions, including whether a non-citizen should ever arrest a US citizen and what would happen if a DACA migrant suddenly loses their legal status.
"I don’t foresee them losing their status," Moore said, "What we see instead is a trend across the country going the other way, recognizing that DACA recipients otherwise are fully functional members of our society."
Close-up on the insignia and slogan of a LAPD vehicle. A Los Angeles man is charged with the death of his 5-year-old son. (iStock)
"They work and are employed. They pay taxes. They act in other responsible ways and this is an expansion or an allowance for us to take advantage of them."
An LAPD source tells Fox News that being a police officer is a full-time job, and not allowing a DACA recipient the ability to carry a weapon could potentially jeopardize their life.
"It’s a safety issue for them because they often work in the communities they police," the police source said.
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"It’s happened more than once where I’ve run into people off-duty that I’ve either arrested or are family members of a gang member that I sent to prison for twenty years and I’m with my family. I’m armed, but these individuals won’t be."
LAPD says it currently has one DACA recipient who recently graduated from the police academy and could begin working at any time.
There are nine DACA recipients scheduled to graduate and potentially join the force in the Spring. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department tells Fox News six DACA recipients recently graduated from the academy and are sworn peace officers. It has nine DACA recruits in training.
LOS ANGELES, CA-JUNE 2, 2023: LAPD Chief of Police Michel Moore, left, and LAPD Captain Christopher Zine, to his immediate right, conduct a uniform inspection during the graduation ceremony for the Los Angeles Police Academy Class 12-2022 at the Los Angeles Police Academy in Los Angeles. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva tells Fox News he thinks law enforcement agencies hiring DACA recipients is a sign of poor leadership and the result of a shrinking recruitment pool.
"I think it’s an acknowledgment that the political establishment has destroyed the ability to recruit," Villanueva told Fox. "I think this is an ill-advised policy, and it all goes to lowering hiring standards."
Villanueva says he fully supports legal immigrants becoming citizens and then joining the force but thinks hiring DACA recipients is putting the "cart before the horse."
LOS ANGELES, CA-JUNE 2, 2023: LAPD Chief of Police Michel Moore delivers the commencement address to graduates of the Los Angeles Police Academy Class 12-2022, during a ceremony at the Los Angeles Police Academy in Los Angeles. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents over 9,200 officers, is backing the proposed policy.
"It has been the long-standing position of the Los Angeles Police Protective League that our members are police officers 24-hours per day and as such they should be afforded all the legal rights and protections the same if they were clocked into their respective shifts," the League wrote in a statement.
Chief Moore says he’s aware of a few other police departments in California who are hiring Dreamers and are looking to Los Angeles for guidance.
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States like California and Colorado recently amended state law to allow non-citizens to become sworn peace officers amid a dwindling pool of law enforcement applicants.
