Following in the footsteps of Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa announced that she had signed into law, on Wednesday, April 10, a bill that will allow law enforcement officials at the state and local level to arrest illegal immigrants who have reentered the United States. The bill also authorizes state courts to deport the arrested illegal immigrants.
That bill is SF 2340. It will, now that Gov. Reynolds has signed it into law, go into effect on July 1, 2024. Under the bill, illegal immigrants caught by state officials could face up to two years in prison and could be deported.
A press release released by the governor’s office on the bill provided, “A bill for an act relating to illegal reentry into the state by certain aliens, prohibition on arrest in certain locations, orders to return to a foreign nation, immunity from liability and indemnification for enforcement actions, sentencing restrictions, and providing penalties.”
The press release also quoted Gov. Reynolds as saying, “The Biden Administration has failed to enforce our nation’s immigration laws, putting the protection and safety of Iowans at risk. 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.”
The bill itself provides, “A person who is an alien commits an offense if the person enters, attempts to enter, or is at any time found in this state under any of the following circumstances: a. The person has been denied admission to or has been excluded, deported, or removed from the United States. b. The person has departed from the United States while an order of exclusion, deportation, or removal is outstanding.”
The bill goes on to allow the arrest of illegal immigrants and then establishes immunity for those law enforcement officers who do so, providing, “a local government official, employee, or contractor is immune from liability for damages arising from a cause of action under state law resulting from an action taken by the official, employee, or contractor to enforce this chapter during the course and scope of the official’s, employee’s, or contractor’s office, employment, or contractual performance for or service on behalf
of the local government.”
Further, the bill allows judges to issue orders of deportation for illegal immigrants, providing, “Upon a person’s conviction of an offense under this chapter, the judge shall enter in the judgment in the case an
order requiring the person to return to the foreign nation from which the person entered or attempted to enter.”
Predictably, left-leaning groups were outraged over the law. In a statement, the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice said, “Iowa politicians moved this ridiculous stunt forward in an election year in order to perpetuate partisan campaign rhetoric, drive fear in immigrant communities and mobilize voters using fear and anti-immigrant sentiment.”
Continuing, that pro-migrant group went on to say, “Immigrants’ rights organizations are ready to fight back and work to block this unconstitutional law from going into effect. We know that we all belong here, Iowa is home, and we will stand together as workers, families and allies to defend each other.”
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