Iowa activists protest bill to make transporting undocumented immigrants a crime

DES MOINES — When Manny Galvez arrived in Iowa after immigrating to the United States, one of the first things he did, he said, was give aid to people in need because of his Christian faith.

Now, Galvez and other activists fear a bill advancing through the Iowa Senate would make it harder for religious organizations and others to provide housing, food and transportation to immigrants without legal status.

The bill, which Republicans in a Senate subcommittee advanced with some hesitation Tuesday, would create a new crime of “human smuggling” and penalize people who transport or harbor undocumented immigrants in certain cases. The bill would also make undocumented immigrants ineligible for public benefits — something that already is in federal law.

Galvez, who has been in the United States for 20 years and lives in Iowa City, said while working with immigrant communities he would never ask for a person’s legal status before helping. He worries if the bill were to become law, he could be prosecuted for his actions.

“When I was working in the streets of Des Moines, we never asked (for) a paper, we never asked if they were citizens or not,” he told lawmakers. “I think this bill is attacking one of the values of this state. Because we have a Christian state, and this is against the values.”

Galvez was among the dozens that showed up at the Iowa Capitol to speak against the bill. The bill, House File 2608, has galvanized immigrant rights activists as it has made its way through the legislative process, along with a few other bills to restrict and penalize undocumented immigrants in Iowa.

Emily Sinnwell, a member of the Iowa City Catholic Worker House — which works with asylum-seekers, providing them housing and transportation — said the bill is not a solution to the issues at the Southern border. “This bill is only causing chaos, panic, fear among the state of Iowa and in our communities,” she said.

Sinnwell said she was worried the bill could make her and other migrant service providers guilty of a felony, and that it could shut down the operation of the Catholic Worker House.

The bill stipulates that a person must obtain “payment or some other benefit” for the smuggling to be in violation. Republican House supporters have said that provision prevents prosecution of religious organizations and other nonprofits.

It also carves out exceptions for people transporting or harboring relatives, creating an affirmative defense against prosecution for people who are closely related by blood or marriage. Transporting a spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent or grandchild would be grounds for the affirmative defense.

The standard punishment for violating the law would be a Class C felony, and the punishment would increase if the smuggled person is injured. A Class C felony is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. If the smuggled person becomes a victim of sexual abuse or suffers serious bodily injury or death, the violator could be convicted of a Class A felony, which carries a mandatory sentence of life.

Opponents also argued that the chilling effect of the bill would hurt the economy by pushing immigrants out of the workforce.

Ninoska Campos, a member of the Eastern Iowa immigrant rights group Escucha Mi Voz and an asylum-seeker from Honduras, said immigrants do essential work — from housekeeping and restaurant work to meatpacking and construction.

“These are all the jobs that we do to keep Iowa going, keep the economy going,” Campos said through a translator. “It would be hard to get up and go to work every day knowing that police could stop our car and ask for our papers and arrest us because we’re immigrants.”

Republicans want changes

Despite advancing the bill to the full committee, Republican senators on the subcommittee said they were uncomfortable with its vague language. They recommended an amendment, though they did not say what changes they want. The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to discuss the bill Wednesday.

Sen. Julian Garrett, R-Indianola, said the bill “needs some work.”

“I don’t really like it very well the way it stands right now, and I agree with those of you that have made that point,” Garrett said. “I do think it needs to be changed. We’ll have to work on that.”

Sen. Jeff Taylor, a Republican from Sioux Center, said he thinks the language around requiring a “payment or some other benefit” to be in violation of the law was too vague.

Sen. Janice Weiner, a Democrat from Iowa City, said the bill could be subject to a constitutional challenge after lawmakers passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act this year, a bill to enhance religious freedom protections.

“It’s clearly against my religion. We’re coming up on the holiday of Passover, which speaks specifically to the need to welcome the stranger,” Weiner said. “Heaven knows we need the workers in this state and we don’t want to be pushing anyone out.”