Healey approved police officer job training programs for immigrants in shelters

LTC acts as de facto barrier, as some states repeal non-citizen policy

The Healey administration has approved job training programs for “immigrants in shelters” to become a police officers, as some states have moved recently to authorize non-citizens to serve in law enforcement.

At least five training programs found at MassHire jobquest, the state’s job hunting and training resource, promote courses “Approved for: Employment Support for Immigrants in Shelters” that provide training for the “Targeted Occupations: Police Patrol Officers, Correctional Officers and Jailers, Security Guards.”

The approved trainings are at Springfield Tech and Bristol, Massasoit and Holyoke Community Colleges.

A training may be approved by the state, but not necessarily occur or even include, any “immigrants in shelters” as trainees.

Maura Healey, the sanctuary state governor, famously told MSNBC that the Massachusetts State Police would “absolutely not” cooperate with the Trump administration plans for “mass deportations.”

According to the Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force Massachusetts law is unclear if non-citizens can become police officers, but there are some specific departments that do require US citizenship including the State Police and Boston.

However, the state’s license to carry a firearm law does require US citizenship and serves as a de facto citizenship requirement for all Massachusetts jurisdictions. In Massachusetts police officers are required to obtain and maintain a valid LTC.

The LTC law and any specific department requirements could be rewritten or revised by the state legislative process.

In 2023, California and Colorado repleaded the US citizenship requirement and are working on regulations to allow non-citizen officers to take their firearm home after work, which is a particular obstacle for DACA non-citizen officers.

Virginia and Wisconsin are among states also considering such changes. Recently, Minnesota did change state law and last fall Minneapolis hired its first non-citizen police officer, Lesly Vera, a permanent legal resident.

Souce: Mass Hire jobquest

The law enforcement training approved by the Healey administration is part of the state’s massive effort to offer job training to the influx of foreign workers who arrived during the Biden administration.

Additional job postings for courses approved for “Immigrants in Shelters” include trainings targeted for a wide array of professions:

Graphic Designers

Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners

Bioinformatics Technicians

Machinists

Computer Network Architects

Hundreds of job training courses have been approved for “immigrants in shelters” and posted to MassHire

MassHire jobquest search for “police”