Seattle Jail Scandal: King County Hires Illegal Aliens as Guards, Vows to Fight State Law and Keep Them Employed

Seattle’s King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention (DAJD) has admitted to illegally hiring over three dozen migrants as corrections officers to guard American citizens in jail after being exposed by a whistleblower.

Instead of firing the violators, the Democrat-run county is vowing to fight the state ban and even push for legal changes to approve the hires retroactively.

The controversy began when a whistleblower filed a complaint with the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (WSCJTC), alleging that DAJD hired as many as 100 individuals with expired or invalid visas, in direct violation of Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 43.101.095.

This law explicitly requires corrections officers to be U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or DACA recipients, with no exceptions for illegal aliens.

On Thursday, the DAJD confirmed hiring 38 illegal aliens who were “incorrectly certified,” calling it a mere “oversight.” Just four recent recruits were dismissed from training following the probe.

“All are fully trained as corrections officers and authorized to work in the United States. King County is committed to safety and the fair treatment of these officers and continues to work closely with the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (WSCJTC). We are keeping all available avenues of relief open at this time,” the DADJ said in a statement provided to The Jason Rantz Show.

Despite not being legally allowed to work as corrections officers, the DAJD said it will not terminate the rest of the aliens’ employment.

“To ensure the integrity of jail operations and the safety of our staff and those in our custody, most of the officers continue to work their assigned shifts while we have ongoing conversations with the CJTC about next steps,” the department added. “All officers who continue to perform duties have completed full training through the CJTC.”

The department is collaborating with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office to try to amend the law.

Breitbart News reports:

It is currently unknown just how many illegal aliens the DAJD employs, and the department apparently does not have any plans to divulge that information to the public.

The hiring scandal has reached past the DAJD, as well. After the whistleblower’s complaint, the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (WSCJTC) dismissed four recently accepted illegal aliens who had been recruited into the corrections officer training academy.

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