Midwest state on verge of defying Biden with Texas-style bill to combat illegal immigration
The state of Iowa is moving forward with an anti-illegal immigration bill that would allow local police to arrest illegal immigrants in the Hawkeye State who had previously been deported. It's similar to a Texas law that is the target of a high-profile legal challenge by the Biden administration.
Senate File 2340 makes it a crime for an illegal immigrant to enter or re-enter the state if he or she has previously been deported or denied admission to the U.S.
The bill has passed the Senate and the House and now heads to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk for signature. Reynolds, a Republican, has said she will sign the bill, which would take effect in July if she does.
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"President Biden and his administration have failed to enforce our immigration laws and, in doing so, have compromised the sovereignty of our nation and the safety of its people," she told The Des Moines Register. "States have stepped in to secure the border, preventing illegal migrants from entering our country and protecting our citizens. Americans deserve nothing less."
It’s one of a number of bills moving through state legislatures. Similar proposals to crack down on illegal immigration have moved forward in New Hampshire, Tennessee and Oklahoma.
But the most high-profile legislation is in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott signed S.B. 4 into law in December, allowing police to arrest illegal immigrants and for judges to order them deported.
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The Biden administration sued in January, arguing the law encroaches into federal territory, citing a 2012 Supreme Court ruling that shut down parts of an Arizona law that sought to empower state and local officials.
"S.B. 4 will not only make communities in Texas less safe, it will also burden law enforcement and sow chaos and confusion at our southern border. S.B. 4 is just another example of Republican officials politicizing the border while blocking real solutions," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement this week.
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the law from going into effect, but it was briefly allowed to go into effect by the Supreme Court, which kicked it back down to the appeals court without ruling on the merits. The 5th Circuit has since blocked it again, and the two sides presented oral arguments Wednesday.
Abbott has argued the law is necessary because the Biden administration is not doing its job of securing the border. The U.S. remains in the grip of a three-year border crisis, with concerns summer could bring another record surge. Fiscal year 2023 saw 2.4 million migrant encounters, a new record.
"No. 1, we are facing such dangerous situations. And, No. 2, Joe Biden, through his actions, is violating the laws of the United States of America," Abbott said Wednesday.
Abbott has clashed with the Biden administration on the border, including the cutting of Texas’ razor wire at the border and the establishment of buoys on the Rio Grande. He has said he intends to continue with those measures this week.
"We will continue to build those border barriers, keep the buoys in the water, build a Texas border wall, doing everything we can to protect the sovereignty of the state of Texas and the United States of America," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.