Imagine this nightmare scenario. An American citizen walking on American streets is arrested, detained, and questioned by a police officer who serves a hostile foreign government such as China, Russia, or Iran. The foreign cop might be a spy charged with keeping track of U.S.-based persons of interest on behalf of his government. This spy, who doubles as an American cop, has the power to act under American law, investigate U.S. residents, and even use lethal force, should he see fit.
This might read like a dystopian novel about the collapse of American society. But this scenario is now legal under Illinois law, as it is in a handful of other states. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker created the possibility for foreign spies to join the Illinois police force with his signature on House Bill 3751, a bill ostensibly intended to mitigate Illinois’ police recruiting crisis.
Previous Illinois law required Illinois police officers to be American citizens. H.B. 3751 allows foreign citizens who hold an American green card to become police, along with individuals who came into America illegally as children and have since received federal protection for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
As America’s proxy conflict with Russia grinds through its second year in Ukraine, China simultaneously inches toward initiating a conflict with the U.S. in the western Pacific, and Iran saber rattles in the Persian Gulf, Illinois policymakers decided to open law enforcement to Russian, Chinese, and Iranian citizens.
Exploiting this opportunity could quickly become a new
