Police in Seattle, Washington have started recruiting recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival Status (DACA) to become cops.
According to 770 KTTH, Senate Bill 6157 allows DACA recipients to apply for civil service jobs across Washington. This includes working in the police departments and fire departments.
Reportedly, this is going into effect due to bipartisan legislation that went into effect on June 6 (via 770 KTTH):
The bill is getting renewed scrutiny after a LinkedIn job application post from the SPD for DACA recipients started receiving attention. The ad explains the SPD “is now accepting applications from DACA recipients! Apply Now!”
Seattle is not alone in hiring DACA recipients for police positions. Earlier in the year, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) made the same move. They even altered its written firearms policy to allow DACA cops to carry a firearm while off-duty.
With new guidance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), DACA recipients are allowed to carry firearms and ammunition if it’s part of official law enforcement officer duties. But any local agency hiring DACA recipients must reform their gun policies to make it clear that their DACA employees can carry firearms.
In order to qualify under the DACA program, recipients must have come to the United States before their 16th birthday and lack the legal authorization to live here.
"An applicant must hold a United States citizenship, OR have legal permanent residency in the U.S., OR be a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient," the Seattle Police Department's job qualifications page now reads.
770 KTTH noted that there’s an “alarming staffing crisis” plaguing the Seattle Police Department and “could use as many qualified applicants as possible.” Reportedly, there are only 424 patrol officers in the department. There are 280 eligible for retirement this year across all positions.
In addition, the mayor’s office has reportedly sought out “diversity hires” rather than applicants who are more qualified. In one specific case, Ben Dalgetty, a strategy lead for Mayor Bruce Harrell (D), sent a memo to SPD human resources asking for “less” images and videos of “officers who are white, male,” and “officers with military bearing.” Instead, Dalgetty asked for more “officers of color,” “officers of different genders,” and “officers who are younger.”