Fact Check: Rumor Has It Seattle Police Department Is Hiring 'Illegal' DACA Immigrants as Officers. Here's What To Know

Nick Hardinges

20 June 2024 at 1:02 pm·4-min read

Seattle Police Department's LinkedIn account

Claim:

Seattle Police Department announced in June 2024 it was hiring DACA recipients as law enforcement officers in June 2024.

Rating:

On June 19, 2024, the X account @disclosetv claimed Seattle Police Department started hiring "illegal immigrant 'Dreamers'" as law enforcement officers.

The term "Dreamers" means young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. unlawfully as children and remain undocumented. It originally referred to the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, a proposed law that would grant immigrant youth legal status and a path to citizenship.

Some Dreamers are now protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, created by former U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, which gives temporary, renewable protections to these young people.

NEW - Seattle Police Department to hire illegal immigrant "dreamers" as law enforcement officers.
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) June 19, 2024

The claim also appeared on Disclose.tv's website, elsewhere on X, on far-right website Gateway Pundit, and in numerous Reddit posts, where one user asked: "Is This True?"

Together, the posts had amassed more than 650,000 views at the time of this writing.

Just Got This "X" Post From a Friend in California Who Can't Believe We're Hiring Illegal Aliens As Seattle Police Officers. I Can't, Either. Is This True or Just Fox News B.S.?
by u/SeattleHasDied in SeattleWA

On June 6, 2024, Seattle Police Department (SPD) uploaded a post on LinkedIn that said the organization "is now accepting applications from DACA recipients."

The Seattle government's website also stated in multiple places that DACA recipients could apply to join the city's law enforcement team, which is why we have rated this claim as "True."

(Seattle Police Department's LinkedIn account)

The Seattle government described DACA as "a form of temporary relief from deportation known as 'deferred action' to undocumented youth who came to the U.S. before the age of 16, who resided in the U.S. since June 2007, and who met other requirements."

DACA also provides eligibility for these same individuals to receive a work permit. DACA status is renewable every two years.
More than 800,000 undocumented youth nationwide received this temporary relief. In [the state of] Washington, approximately 18,000 undocumented youth are DACA recipients, and we estimate about one-third to half of them live in Seattle-King County.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said the program, which was announced on June 15, 2012, "does not provide lawful status" as a U.S. citizen.

The Guardian newspaper published an explainer on DACA and "Dreamers" on June 18, 2020.

Numerous news outlets covered Seattle's decision to allow DACA recipients and "Dreamers" to apply for law enforcement jobs in June 2024.

Sources:

Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) | USCIS. 8 Apr. 2024, https://www.uscis.gov/DACA.

Get the Latest DACA Updates - IandRaffairs | Seattle.Gov. https://www.seattle.gov/iandraffairs/issues-and-policies/daca#about:~:text=to%20the%20top-,About%20DACA,-Deferred%20Action%20for. Accessed 20 June 2024.

How to Apply - Police | Seattle.Gov. https://www.seattle.gov/police/police-jobs/how-to-apply#:~:text=Deferred%20Action%20for%20Childhood%20Arrivals%20(DACA). Accessed 20 June 2024.

Lee, Michael. 'Illegal Immigrant Police Could Soon Fill Beleaguered Ranks of Blue City'. Fox News, 17 June 2024, https://www.foxnews.com/politics/illegal-immigrant-police-could-soon-fill-beleaguered-ranks-blue-city.

Qualifications - Police | Seattle.Gov. https://www.seattle.gov/police/police-jobs/how-to-apply/qualifications#citizenship:~:text=Deferred%20Action%20for%20Childhood%20Arrivals%20(DACA)%20recipient. Accessed 20 June 2024.

Rantz, Jason. 'Seattle Police Staffing Dire, Hitting Lowest Number since 1958'. MyNorthwest.Com, 20 June 2024, https://mynorthwest.com/3962938/rantz-seattle-police-staffing-lowest-since-1958-as-38-cops-leave-so-far/.

Seattle Police Department Posted on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/seattle-police-department_activity-7204677370283237377--H06. Accessed 20 June 2024.

'Seattle Police Recruiting DACA Recipients to Become Officers'. NewsNation, 17 June 2024, https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/seattle-police-recruit-daca-recipients-officers/.

'The Dream Act: An Overview'. American Immigration Council, 8 May 2024, https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/dream-act-overview.

Walters, Joanna, and Amanda Holpuch. 'Explainer: What Is Daca and Who Are the Dreamers?' The Guardian, 18 June 2020. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/18/daca-dreamers-us-immigration-explainer.

Yeatman, Dominic. 'Seattle to Use Illegal Migrants to Bolster Depleted Police Force'. Mail Online, 18 June 2024, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13540653/Seattle-police-illegal-migrants-Diaz-DACA-Dreamers.html.

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