Migrants with work permits could become firefighters under new plan in Illinois

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Illinois House Democrats have a new bill that would allow migrants with federal work permits to become firefighters.

Under current law, anyone applying to become a firefighter has to be a U.S. citizen.

State Rep. Barbara Hernandez (D-Aurora) said she wants to be clear that undocumented immigrants will not be allowed to take the job.

"They automatically think I'm helping undocumented individuals or I'm allowing them to be firefighters. That is not the case," Hernandez said. "This is only for individuals that have federal approval to work here."

Migrants that apply for the job will still have to go through the same recruitment and training process that is required of every firefighter.

Illinois is dealing with a shortage of firefighters, with many communities not having enough people to douse out the flames.

"It will help our community keep us safe," Hernandez said. "It would help an industry that is currently hurting because there's not a lot of people that want to pursue that career."

A couple of years ago, a plan that passed and was signed into Illinois law allowed migrants with federal work authorization to become police officers.

That bill received bipartisan support, with one of the chief co-sponsors being a house republican.

This time, because of the name of the bill, Hernandez does not expect this plan to get the same treatment.

"Because of the political lives we go through right now, I don't think I'll get bipartisan support on this," Hernandez said. "They react to the titles and latch onto it unfortunately."

As of yet the bill has not been assigned to a committee.