The Minneapolis Police Department is coming under fire for hiring its first noncitizen officer.
Among the nearly dozen new officers sworn in last week was Lesly Vera, a permanent U.S. resident who has been in the U.S. since she was a young child.
City leaders say the years-long effort to rebuild the Minneapolis Police Department, while not over, is starting to be seen and felt—nearly two dozen more officers, including new firsts, are on the force following a graduation ceremony.
“Just as they’re about to take their oaths today, before all of you and before God, I know that I have a sacred obligation to do that all I can for them,” MPD Chief Brian O’Hara said at the ceremony. “I pledge to you tonight that I will do everything within my power to take care of them.”
Now part of the rank-and-file are 11 recruits and 12 lateral officers who are joining from other agencies, some with more than a decade of experience. Of the recruits is the first-ever Somali woman, Ikran Mohamed, and permanent resident, Lesly Vera, for the department.
A permanent resident who is a non-citizen can be part of the department now due to a recent law change, Chief O’Hara said. Officer Vera said she moved to Minneapolis from Mexico when she was 4 and has called it home since.
“I didn’t see anybody that really looked like me, Latina,” Vera said about her drive to become a police officer. “I want to have that face for my people.” (KSTP)
Near the fall of the Roman Empire, the Roman Army also increasingly relied on non-citizens https://t.co/y1O282CBCn
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 27, 2024
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara pushed back on criticism of the department hiring a noncitizen.
“There may be people who question it, but that’s completely ridiculous,” he said, according to local reports. “There’s, like I mentioned, there is a history in this country of people immediately on arrival to the country, enlisting in the military and serving…Somebody like [Officer Vera], who has been here essentially her entire life, absolutely is entitled to protect her community in the same way that anyone else here has, and we’re honored to have her.”