Sangamon Sun

U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) has strongly criticized Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker for signing a bill that allows undocumented immigrants to become police officers, giving non-citizens the authority to arrest citizens in the state.

Miller condemned the measure on Facebook, calling it "madness" and asserting that no sensible state would grant such powers to foreign nationals.

“At 5 pm yesterday, when no one was paying attention, Gov. Pritzker signed a bill to allow illegal immigrants to become police officers, giving non-citizens the power to arrest citizens in our state," Miller said on Facebook. "No sane state would allow foreign nationals to arrest their citizens, this is madness!”

Pritzker signed the law on Friday, July 28. State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet), argued the law poses a fundamental breach of democracy by granting noncitizens the power to arrest and detain U.S. citizens.

“This is just a foundational thing. I get that everybody is running away from law enforcement in Chicago because of everything the state of Illinois has done to law enforcement in Chicago,” Rose said during the debate on the bill, according to The Center Square. “But to backfill that and hand the power to arrest and detain a citizen of this state or any state in the United States to a noncitizen is a fundamental breach of democracy.”

The law goes into effect on Jan. 1. It applies to undocumented residents “legally authorized under federal law to work in the United States and is authorized under federal law to obtain, carry, or purchase or otherwise possess a firearm, or who is an individual against whom immigration action has been deferred by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) process and is authorized under federal law to obtain, carry, or purchase or otherwise possess a firearm."

The roll call vote shows Miller’s husband Chris Miller was joined only by fellow Republicans Dan Caulkins, Jed Davis, Brad Halbrook, Adam Niemerg, Tom Weber, and Blaine Wilhour in voting no, according to ilga.gov.