New York Police Detective Russel Timoshenko was 23 years old when he was killed in the line of duty earlier this year. Timoshenko, from Belarus, was one of a growing number of immigrants who become police officers or firefighters in the United States.

 

The New York Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association posthumously presented the New York Immigrant Achievement Award to Timoshenko at a ceremony in New York City on Thursday, December 13, 2007. At that ceremony, the American Immigration Law Foundation's Immigration Policy Center also released a report on immigrants as public safety officers: "On the Beat: New Roles and Challenges for Immigrant Police and Firefighters."

 

Immigrants serving as police officers is not a new story. They played a major role in United States police departments for most of the late 19th and early 20th centuries when Irish and Italian immigrants dominated the ranks of major metropolitan police departments. Joining the police force was one means to integrate into United States society-to become more accepted by mainstream America.        

 

As detailed in IPC's report, the percentage of public safety officers who were not born in the United States has risen steadily in the last decade. Police are four times more likely to be foreign-born and firefighters twice as likely to be foreign-born than they were in 1995. In 2006, the United States had approximately 46,000 foreign-born police officers and detectives and 9,700 foreign-born firefighters, with numbers expected to rise in the coming years. Already, gateway cities such as New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Chicago are actively recruiting immigrants to serve and protect their diverse communities.  

 

Immigrants today, like those of past generations, are a vital segment in the ranks of America's public safety officers. We honor Detective Timoshenko and his family for their sacrifices and dedication to their new homeland.