Minneapolis PD Hires First Noncitizen Officer

The Minneapolis Police Department is coming under fire for hiring its first noncitizen officer.

This from townhall.com.

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. But she is not a U.S. citizen.

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.

MPD Chief Brian O’Hara said at the 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 all I can for them.

I pledge to you tonight that I will do everything within my power to take care of them.

Chief O’Hara said:

A permanent resident who is a non-citizen can be part of the department now due to a recent law change.

Officer Vera said she moved to Minneapolis from Mexico when she was 4 and has called it home since.

Vera said about her drive to become a police officer:

I didn’t see anybody that really looked like me, Latina. I want to have that face for my people.” (KSTP)

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.

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.

In response to this Minneapolis Police Department action, Elon Musk wrote on X:

Near the fall of the Roman Empire, the Roman Army also increasingly relied on non-citizens. https://t.co/y1O282CBCn