Iowa law allows arrest of undocumented migrants
DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a Texas-style immigration law on Wednesday allowing Iowa officers to arrest undocumented immigrants under a new crime of “illegal reentry” into the state.
The new law, effective July 1, follows the Lone Star State in making it a crime to attempt to enter Iowa after being previously deported or barred from entering the United States.
“The Biden administration has failed to enforce our nation’s immigration laws, putting the protection and safety of Iowans at risk,” Reynolds said in a statement. “Those who come into our country illegally have broken the law, yet Biden refuses to deport them. This bill gives Iowa law enforcement the power to do what he is unwilling to do: enforce immigration laws already on the books.”
President Joe Biden has asked Congress to pass a bipartisan federal immigration law that would beef up border spending and give him more authority to combat illegal immigration, but Republicans rejected it after former President Donald Trump condemned it. Reynolds, a Republican, said, “We don’t need a new law.”
Courts have put the Texas law that serves as the model for Iowa’s legislation on hold while a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality is decided.
The U.S. Justice Department is suing over the Texas law, arguing it unconstitutionally usurps the federal government’s authority to enforce immigration laws and could create chaos in administering the law.
Reynolds has made multiple trips to the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years as she has criticized Biden’s immigration policies.
Iowa is currently deploying 10 Iowa Department of Public Safety officers and 110 Iowa National Guard soldiers to the border to support Texas’ state law enforcement and military’s immigration efforts.
Immigrant rights groups have protested the Iowa legislation at the Capitol this year and vowed to fight it through legal actions, strikes and rallies.
The Iowa law creates a new crime of illegal reentry into the state, which applies to anyone who has previously been deported, removed or denied admission to the U.S.
In most cases, the crime is an aggravated misdemeanor, which carries a two-year sentence. But it rises to a class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, in certain circumstances. If the person is arrested for another felony, the crime becomes a class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
For anyone convicted of illegal reentry, the judge in the case would have to enter an order requiring the convicted person to return to the country they had come from.
The law forbids law enforcement officers from arresting someone if the person is in a school, a place of worship, a health care facility, or a facility for survivors of sexual assault.
And the legislation provides legal immunity for local law enforcement and other government officials responsible for enforcing the measure.