The law enforcement veteran and InVest USA founder discusses the case surrounding Larry Temah, who was arrested before he could graduate onto the force – under false pretenses.

I get that some police departments are having trouble with recruitment these days, especially in states where Democrats seem more interested in protecting illegal immigrants than their own native citizens. But that’s still no excuse when it comes to hiring the wrong kind of person for the role. In this case, Larry Temah.

Temah, who is 46 years old, was recently hired into a role by the New Orleans Police Department and was one week away from graduation – meaning he was this close to being issued a badge and a firearm alongside his fellow recruits.

Until ICE apparently came and got him because he was an illegal alien.

That’s not to say that Temah came here under nefarious means, mind you. He did come to the United States legally in 2015 under a visitor visa before being given conditional residency shortly thereafter after marrying a U.S. citizen. However, years later, in 2022, his application for permanent residency was denied.

Why, you ask? Though details haven’t been given, it appears that it was due to fraud. And, worse yet, his refusal to show up in immigration court three different times resulted in the removal of whatever residency he had left. As a result, he was not qualified to work in the United States.

And yet…New Orleans’ Police Department hired him. And trained him to become a police officer.

“This illegal alien from Cameroon, Larry Temah, is not only breaking the law with every step he takes in this country illegally, but the New Orleans Police Department hired him and issued him in a firearm—what kind of law enforcement department gives criminal illegal aliens guns and badges? It’s a FELONY for illegal aliens to even possess a firearm,” Assistant Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

“President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE is restoring law and order. Criminal illegal aliens have no place in our communities—especially on our police forces.”

But what’s bizarre about this is that, instead of fessing up to the error and noting how they would take hiring practices more seriously, New Orleans Police Department spokesperson Reese Harper chose to make excuses instead. Not only did he state that statements about Temah were “misleading,” but that they followed due process in his hiring.

“New Orleans is not a sanctuary city,” he said. “Any claim that NOPD knowingly violated the law is false.”

So how did this happen then? Chief Anne Kirkpatrick explained that no legal issues with Temah’s work status showed up in the hiring process. This is despite the court removing his visa status – again, for fraud – and making note of his three absences in court.

“We did the due diligence,” Kirkpatrick noted, pointing at ICE’s verification system as the problem, not them.

I don’t think so. If you had done the due diligence as noted, you would’ve seen these warning flags from a mile away and not only denied Temah the job, but also made sure that the DHS knew of his status so he could be safely removed from the country. Even if there was a hiccup in the system, your own legal warnings should have instantly disqualified him.

Instead, they went all in and hired him.

While I usually cheer on someone trying to make a turnaround for the better, there is a process to be followed when becoming a police officer. You have to legally be able to work here. And, more importantly, you shouldn’t have any sort of criminal activity that sticks out like a sore thumb, and yet somehow gets missed due to a technical error.

The matter is resolved now, and one can only hope that the New Orleans Police Department has learned from this and will vet their potential officers for the better. Mistakes like this can be costly, especially if the wrong person is given a gun in the name of the law.

At least the error was caught before bigger mistakes were made. Here’s hoping other police departments follow suit and avoid a similar situation.