Mimicking Texas, new Iowa law makes illegal immigration a state crime

DES MOINES — Iowa authorities would be allowed to arrest and order the removal of immigrants who enter the United States illegally, mimicking a controversial Texas law being challenged in court.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Wednesday signed into law Senate File 2340. The law, which takes effect July 1, creates a new state crime of “illegal reentry.”

The law makes it an aggravated misdemeanor, which carries up to a two-year sentence, for people to enter Iowa if they were previously deported from the United States, denied entry to the country or left the country while facing a deportation order. In some cases, including people with certain prior convictions, the state crime would become a felony, punishable by up to five to 10 years in prison.

Law enforcement would not be able to arrest individuals for violating the law while they are at a school, religious institution, health care facility or a facility that provides exams for sexual assault survivors.

The bill also would create civil immunity for city and state employees and contractors who are sued for implementing the law.

For those convicted under the new law, Iowa judges could issue an order requiring the person return to the country from which he or she entered the United States, and specify the manner in which they’ll be transported to a U.S. port of entry and list the law officer and state agencies responsible for ensuring the violator leaves the country. Undocumented immigrants could face felony charges for non-compliance.

Republicans argue the measure is needed to respond to record numbers of illegal crossings and accuse Democratic President Joe Biden of abandoning his responsibility to secure the border.

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“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.”

Immigration enforcement generally is the responsibility of the federal government, and opponents have argued states do not have the authority to take measures like these.

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A similar law passed in Texas is temporarily blocked while a federal appeals court weighs a challenge to a lower court's ruling that struck down the measure. The lower court found the law “threatens the fundamental notion that the United States must regulate immigration with one voice.”

Immigrant rights advocates warn the Iowa bill will lead to widespread racial profiling and stereotyping. They argue it undermines — not promotes — public safety and the rule of law, and consume already strapped state court and law enforcement resources.

The bill does not provide funding or a requirement to train officers on immigration law, despite authorizing them to make decisions about a person’s immigration status.

Opponents also raised concerns that parents may be separated from their children if arrested under the new state crime.

"(I)t would allow police to arrest people based on their federal immigration status and authorize Iowa judges to order someone to be deported or jailed before they have an opportunity to seek humanitarian protection that they are entitled to,“ Mark Stringer, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, said in a statement.

"The Iowa law enforcement and state judges tasked with authority to carry out this outrageous legislation are not trained in immigration law and have no proper authority to enforce it,“ Stringer said. ” … If enacted, this law will wreak havoc in Iowa families and communities and threaten Iowans who are citizens and noncitizens alike."

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Eastern Iowa immigrant rights group Escucha Mi Voz said the group will attempt to block the law through courts and other avenues. Its members voted last month to organize demonstrations on May 1 and July 1 against the law.

“We are also exploring legal action in the courts and have requested meetings with the U.S. Department of Justice, Iowa Department of Public Safety, and local police chiefs and county sheriffs," Escucha Mi Voz member Ninoska Campos wrote in an email last month to the group’s members in Spanish.

The Iowa City-based group provides housing and health services, legal aid, community organizing and advocacy for immigrant workers in the state. The group has more than 500 individual members and 40 faith-based members.

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com