By Shari Rendall
FAIR
For the second time in three months, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested an illegal alien who was a sworn police officer, this time in Hanover Park, Illinois. The illegal alien, Radule Bojovic, came from Montenegro and according to ICE, came to the U.S. in 2015 on a B-2 non-immigrant tourist visa. After his visa expired in March 2015, Bojovic remained in the country illegally for over 10 years. Hanover Park Village stated their police department hired Bojovic in January 2025.
Bojovic was taken into custody on October 15 during “Operation Midway Blitz.” According to the Department of Homeland Security, the operation was launched in honor of Katie Abraham, who was killed by an illegal alien driving under the influence of alcohol. The purpose of Operation Midway Blitz was to target criminal aliens who came to Chicago and Illinois knowing that the city’s and state’s sanctuary laws would shield them from immigration enforcement.
Upon Bojovic’s arrest, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin highlighted the absurdity of the situation saying, “J.B. Pritzker doesn’t just allow violent illegal aliens to terrorize Illinois’s communities — he allows illegal aliens to work as sworn police officers. Radule Bojovic violated our nation’s laws and was living illegally in the United States for 10 years. What kind of police department gives criminal illegal aliens badges and guns?”
However, in 2023, three states, California, Colorado, and Illinois, enacted laws that permitted illegal aliens to be law enforcement officers. In Illinois, House Bill (HB) 3751 allowed “any person who is not a citizen of the U.S. who is legally authorized under federal law to work in the United States and is authorized under federal law to obtain, carry, or purchase, or otherwise possess a firearm” to act as a deputy sheriff or a special policeman.
While the Illinois law on its face appears to allow illegal aliens to become police officers, their eligibility based on how the bill is drafted makes it questionable. 18 U.S.C. §922 (g)(5)(A) makes it unlawful for anyone illegally or unlawfully in the country to possess a firearm. An exception is provided at 18 U.S.C. §925(a)(1) which says the prohibition does not apply to “any firearm or ammunitions imported for, sold or shipped to, or issued for the use of … any State or any department, agency, or political subdivision thereof.” However, the Illinois law is debatable because under federal law, an illegal alien would not be authorized to possess or carry a firearm under 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(5) and the law makes “such federal authorization a preliminary requirement for eligibility.”
Regardless of whether the exception would allow an illegal alien to become a law enforcement officer in Illinois, it is simply bad policy. To carry out their duties, officers must take an oath of office, which requires them to enforce the law and protect the constitutional rights of all in their community. Illegal aliens cannot, in good faith, take this oath because they continuously reside in the United States in violation of the law.
Allowing an illegal alien to be a law enforcement officer not only undermines the rule of law but also threatens public safety. As police officers, illegal aliens would have the authority to arrest and detain United States citizens – the public must be confident that the officers who are sworn to protect them and uphold the law are upstanding citizens in the community.
