Capitol Notebook: Migrant activists rally against anti-immigration bills in Iowa

DES MOINES — Iowa immigration activists rallied Wednesday in opposition to a number of proposed bills targeting undocumented immigrants at the Iowa State Capitol.

Members of the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice, a group focused on providing legal services and advocacy for immigrants and refugees, said during the rally the bills are an attack on immigrant communities and an attempt to force them out of the state.

“For years, legislators have been passing bills attacking vulnerable Iowans, restricting people’s rights and further marginalizing certain communities,” said Vanessa Marcano-Kelly, one of the rally’s leaders.

The demonstrators on Wednesday were focused on four bills they said hurt immigrant communities in Iowa:

Two of those bills have made it out of a committee and are eligible for a floor vote, while another was reported out of a subcommittee. Senate File 2211 is scheduled for a subcommittee meeting Thursday.

Luis Gomez, a high school soccer coach, said at the rally that he was worried the bill dealing with transporting undocumented immigrants would make it a crime to drive members of his team to and from games.

He said he works with students from immigrant families and the bill would put him in danger of violating the law if he does not ask students about their immigration status.

“Even arranging for one teammate to give another a ride, I would not be able to do that in good faith, because I don’t know this kid’s immigration status, and I am not going to ask them about their immigration status,” he said.

Republican Rep. Steve Holt of Denison, who led the subcommittee on that bill, said last week it is not intended to criminalize those activities. Republicans who advanced the bills said this month that they are intended to disincentivize unlawful immigration into Iowa and prevent Iowa taxpayer money from going to people who are not in the country legally.

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Drag performances

Individuals who expose minors to an “obscene performance” could be prosecuted and charged with a misdemeanor under a bill advanced by lawmakers.

Senate File 2176 would make knowingly exposing anyone under 18 to such a performance a serious misdemeanor, as well as knowingly selling a ticket or admitting a minor to a venue where such a performance is held.

The bill defines “obscene performance” as invoking sexual acts or “appeals to the prurient interest and is patently offensive, and the performance taken as a whole lack serious artistic, literary, political, or scientific value.”

Sen. Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, and Keenan Crow, with LGBTQ advocacy group One Iowa, raised concerns the legislation could result in wide-ranging lawsuits and a “chilling effect” of discouraging LGBTQ+ pride parades and drag shows.

Sen. Sandy Salmon, R-Janesville, the bill’s sponsor, said “obscene performance exposure is exactly what is done to groom children for sexual abuse and exploitation.”

“It breaks down children's God-given modesty,” Salmon said.

While Salmon's new bill, which a subcommittee advanced Wednesday, does not explicitly name drag shows as obscene performances, Crow believed that was the “genesis” of the new bill. Salmon last year introduced a bill banning minors from attending drag shows.

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Crow worried language in the bill that allows for a parent or guardian to bring a lawsuit and seek damages and other relief against "any person that has knowingly disseminated or exhibited obscene material" to a minor will result in harassment by “bad actors” who misinterpret Iowa’s obscenity law.

“Basically every drag performance I’ve ever seen does not meet the definition of obscenity,” Crow said, “What I worry about is that there will be some extremely litigious activists on this that will bring suit after suit after suit.”

Sen. Mike Klimesh, R-Spillville, worried the bill could lead to "shotgun lawsuits" against a variety of local officials stemming from a public event like a pride parade.

Klimesh, however, voted with Sen. Cherielynn Westrich, R-Ottumwa, to advance the legislation but said he wanted to see the bill changed in committee.

Social studies instruction

A set of social studies curriculums developed by a conservative think tank would be required in Iowa schools under a bill Republican lawmakers advanced out of a subcommittee Wednesday.

The bill, House File 2330, includes instructions to teach students about the structure of the U.S. government, the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens, and the “cultural heritage of Western civilization, the United States and the state of Iowa.”

The bill requires that students in grades one through 12 learn about a range of concepts, people and events in U.S. history, including the flag and national anthem, the country’s founding documents and figures like Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass.

It also would require schools to provide instruction on “the cultural heritage of Western civilization” starting in first grade. Starting in seventh grade, schools would need to teach about “the study of and devotion to the United States’ exceptional and praiseworthy history.”

The bill was sponsored by a number of Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Pat Grassley. The language in the bill was developed by the National Association of Scholars, a conservative think tank, Rep. Brooke Boden, R-Indianola, said during the subcommittee meeting Wednesday.

People representing schools, teachers and administrators told lawmakers that the bill is an unnecessary mandate. They said the Legislature has a history of not prescribing specific curriculum in state law.

Republican Rep. Steve Holt of Denison said he believes students are not learning U.S. history and civics and are instead being taught that the country is “systemically racist” and “not worth fighting for.”

Holt and Boden voted to advance the bill out of the subcommittee, while Democratic Rep. Heather Matson of Ankeny did not.

Child support for pregnant mothers

State lawmakers advanced a bill Wednesday that would require child support during pregnancy.

House File 2103 is eligible for debate and a vote in the full House.

Under current law, judges consider the income that both parents earn in determining child support — after the child is born.

Rep. John Wills, a Republican from Spirit Lake, said Iowa would be the first state to force men to support their child from the moment of conception if the bill becomes law.

Paternity tests can be performed during or after a pregnancy, Wills said. Once paternity is established, a judge could order the father to retroactively provide financial support during the nine months of pregnancy. A court could also order the father to provide health insurance coverage to the mother during pregnancy

The bill passed out of committee, 14-7, with Democrats opposed.

Democratic Rep. Megan Srinivas, a Des Moines physician who serves on the committee, expressed concerns the law would allow individuals in contested paternity cases to force an “invasive” amniocentesis test of pregnant women to establish paternity, and make it more difficult for women fleeing abusive relationships.

Looting offense

Lawmakers advanced a bill on Wednesday that established the crime of "looting" and made it punishable as up to a Class C felony.

The bill, House File 2259, was inspired by incidents of “smash and grab” robberies seen in other states, said Rep. Steve Holt, R-Denison, who led the subcommittee on the bill on Wednesday.

Any looting of property over $10,000 would be a Class C felony, and punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Looting of property between $1,000 and $10,000 would be a Class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $7,500.

Looting of property worth less than $1,000 would be an aggravated misdemeanor, punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $6,250.