An Arizona DPS officer with more than a decade on the force, has resigned this week after it was revealed that she is an illegal immigrant.

Carmen Figueroa was hired in 2003 and had been promoted to being a DPS spokesperson in Tucson. Prior to her current job, she had worked at the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The possibility that she was not a legal resident arose when her brother attempted to go to work for the US Air Force. It was then that a red flag was raised with the State Department and the word got back to Arizona.

According to the Arizona DPS, it seems that Figueroa and her brother may have both been told that they were born in the United States, but in fact had been brought into the US from Mexico at a very young age.

"She had an exemplary work record as an officer," said DPS spokesperson Bart Graves. "She was brought up, along with her brother, always believing what their mother told them, that they were both American citizens."

Graves noted that all documentation received by the department seemed authentic, including a delayed birth certificate from Texas and a graduation diploma from California. He also said that everything the department had checked on Figueroa had "checked out."

Supporters of DACA and the DREAM Act have seized upon this incident as an example of why immigration reform is long past due.

"The Carmen Figueroa incident is another example of a woman who demonstrated her hard work and contributions to our American society with regard to public safety," wrote Dee Dee Garcia Blasé in the Tucson Citizen. "She lost her job and the economic impact this has on her and other families is another example of why legal immigration reform must be dealt with. In a matter of months, the loss of her job could be devastating to her family. This DPS officer is getting overwhelming support from compassionate people who see her as a contributing member of our society."

And, of course, there is an opposite reaction coming from stalwart opponents of comprehensive immigration reform as well who see this incident as - if not outright planned - at least conveniently timed for maximum political advantage.

"We've been anticipating an increasing frequency of illegal immigration stories in the media headline," an unsigned editorial read in The Conservative Tree House. "Examples specifically selected by the media to highlight a narrative portraying illegal aliens as 'innocent victims.' Consider it 'The Dreamers 2.0' - only, on steroids."