Danbury taxpayers deserve to understand the full risk behind Mayor Roberto Alves and his Democratic majority council’s decision to hire Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients as police officers– a move most states won’t touch.

A DACA Dreamer is not a permanent American resident. Their residency must be renewed every two years. If renewal is delayed or denied, the city must terminate the officer immediately. That alone destabilizes the force.

But policing adds two major legal problems:

• Firearms: Federal law bars individuals without lawful immigration status from possessing guns. DACA does not grant lawful status. The city’s “we’ll issue the gun each shift” workaround has never been tested in court.

And here’s the part Danbury taxpayers need to hear:

• Training a police officer costs well over $250,000 and takes 18–24 months before the officer is fully deployable. That includes academy training, salary, benefits, equipment, field training, and supervision. If DACA status lapses, every dollar of that investment is lost instantly.

Meanwhile, DACA’s legality is still being fought in federal court. No one knows how that case will end.

Only a handful of states have tried this, and even they’ve moved cautiously. Danbury’s leadership chose to jump first, putting personable and political beliefs ahead of legal clarity, insurance liability, and the stability of our police force.

This isn’t about any individual. It’s about protecting Danbury from avoidable legal exposure and wasted taxpayer dollars.

Danbury deserves decisions grounded in law, not personal or political beliefs.

Warren Levy lives in Danbury.