Debate Grows Over Non-Citizens Serving in New Bedford Police Dept.

"All who swear the oath of citizenship are doing more than completing a legal process. You are making a lifetime pledge to support the values and the laws of America. The pledge comes with great privileges. It also comes with great responsibilities." — Remarks by President George W. Bush at a Naturalization Ceremony on July 10, 2013.

Becoming a naturalized American citizen is a big deal. Obtaining American citizenship should be the primary objective of all who seek to inhabit this uniquely wonderful nation, regardless of the circumstances of their arrival here.

Too often, that's not the case.

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New Bedford Police Citizenship Debate

The City of New Bedford finds itself wrestling with an emotional issue of whether non-citizens with permanent legal status should be allowed to serve as police officers. The issue came about after a New Bedford Light profile on Edwin Yat Toj, the city's first police officer that speaks K'iche', the native Mayan language.

New Bedford Police Department spokesperson Holly Huntoon confirms, "The NBPD has two legal permanent residents (non-citizens) among its sworn officers."

"Both Officer Toj and another Cape Verdean officer will be pursuing U.S. citizenship,” said Huntoon, who did not identify the Cape Verdean officer by name. Toj entered the U.S. illegally when he was five years old in 2005 but later became a legal permanent resident, commonly known as a "green card holder."

Should Non-Citizens Serve as Police Officers?

Some callers to my program object to non-citizens serving as law enforcement officers with arrest powers and question whether they are legally able to carry weapons (under Massachusetts law, legal permanent residents can be issued a License to Carry). They are not racists; they value American citizenship and have a right and an obligation to question policies implemented by elected and non-elected officials without public debate.

In his weekly appearance on WBSM, Mayor Jon Mitchell dismissed their concerns as "ignorance" and "rhetoric," nothing more than talk radio fodder.

According to Public Information Officer Jonathan Darling, non-citizens hold positions with police departments in several Massachusetts communities, including Fall River, Attleboro and Brockton. That may be true, but that's their discussion to have, not ours.

The policy that led to this debate raises additional questions.

"Inaccurate Information" Leads to Questions

The New Bedford Police Department website clearly stated, "You must be a U.S. citizen to apply" for a job as a police officer. That is, until we questioned the hiring of non-citizens. Once we did, the department amended the policy to include "permanent legal residents."

When asked about the policy change, Huntoon responded, "It is the long-standing policy of the NBPD that its officers must be U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents."

"NBPD regrets inaccurate information that has appeared on a 'Frequently Asked Questions' page on its webpage, which indicated incorrectly that only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment as New Bedford police officers," said Huntoon, who added, "The webpage in question has since been corrected."

"The error was corrected last week, at Chief (Jason) Thody's request, after it was brought to our attention," she said.

But who posted the "inaccurate" information and why? Crickets.

When I asked NBPD Public Information Officer Lt. Scott Carola for a copy of the "long-standing policy," he indicated one does not exist. "The NBPD is unaware of any period in which different qualification criteria were used in the New Bedford Police Officer application process."

"Legal permanent residents do not appear to have ever been excluded from eligibility," Carola said. "The Department's reference to its 'long-standing' policy refers to the use of the current criteria rather than a reference to a document."

But no one can remember a non-citizen police officer on the NBPD before now.

The only written policy concerning citizenship "incorrectly" appeared on the NBPD website until the Department amended it after being questioned about two recent non-citizen hires.

And why have these two officers not sought U.S. citizenship before now?