(The Center Square) – King County’s Department of Adult & Juvenile Detention, still reeling from a four-year booking freeze on low-level offenders, now faces losing 38 fully trained corrections officers due to a state law requiring officers to be U.S. citizens or have a green card.
Under state law, individuals cannot serve as law enforcement officers in Washington unless they hold U.S. citizenship or a green card, putting the jobs of 38 King County corrections officers at risk.
These 38 officers are legally authorized to live and work in the U.S. Four were removed mid-training at the state criminal justice training commission and two more were planned to enter training in the future. The remaining 32 are all fully trained and certified to work as corrections officers in corrections facilities, according to DAJD…