A woman who served as a spokesperson for the Arizona’s state police agency resigned this week after reportedly discovering she was living in the U.S. illegally.
Local TV news station KVOA reported on Tuesday that the woman, Carmen Figueroa, who worked as an officer and spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Safety, discovered her immigration status after her brother applied for a visa and underwent an Immigration and Customs Enforcement background check.
Gov. Jan Brewer (R), who oversees the agency, made national headlines in 2010 when she signed a law designed to get local and state police to investigate people who were suspected of being in the U.S. illegally.
KVOA said Figueroa may have used “a fake or forged birth certificate.” Figueroa had been with Arizona DPS for 13 years.
Spokesman Bart Graves told KVOA Figueroa believed she was a citizen before being told otherwise.
“We believe the affidavit and information she gave us at the time. And, she was under the impression that she herself was an American citizen,” Graves said.
