RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Jemny Marquinez has wanted to be a police officer since the age of 12, when she saw officers from her local police department in Virginia handing out Christmas gifts to children.
Marquinez has the right qualifications, including a bachelor’s degree in criminology, but because she is not a U.S. citizen, she cannot work as a police officer in Virginia. A bill approved by the state Senate Tuesday would change that by allowing recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act, known as DACA, to become eligible for jobs in law enforcement.
Marquinez, 24, has lived in the U.S. since the age of 3, when her family moved here from El Salvador. She told Virginia lawmakers during a hearing last month that she has no memory of El Salvador, and Virginia is the only home she has ever known. She said that if the legislation is signed into law, she would wear a police badge with “gratitude, honor and respect.”
“Being an American isn’t just about being born in the United States,” Marquinez said, but also “loving the flag and what it stands for.”