Utah Senate approves bill letting lawful permanent residents serve as police officers
Utah lawmakers have passed legislation that removes the citizenship requirement for police candidates who are lawful permanent residents and meet state qualifications.
The Utah Senate voted to eliminate the U.S. citizenship prerequisite for individuals seeking to become police officers, provided they hold lawful permanent resident status and satisfy existing state standards. The measure aims to broaden the pool of eligible recruits. The change echoes a similar debate in 2021. Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz criticized the proposal on social media, calling it "crazy and wrong."
Why it matters
The change could reshape police recruitment and affect community relations in Utah.
In this story
non-citizen police officerslawful permanent residentscitizenship requirementUtahpolice recruitmentJason Chaffetz
