A new bill signed by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) on Wednesday will make it illegal for a person to be in the state if they were previously denied entry to the United States or were removed from the country.
The bill — SF 2340 — will make it a state crime for someone to be in Iowa if they have outstanding deportation orders, were previously removed from the U.S. or were previously denied admission to Iowa. Once a suspect is in custody, the law states that they could agree to a judge’s order to leave the country or face further charges.
The judge’s order must include information on the method of transportation the person uses to get to the port of entry and the law enforcement officer or agency responsible for ensuring they comply with the order.
The law is reminiscent of a Texas state law that gives state law enforcement the authority to arrest people they suspect of entering the country illegally. The Texas law is facing legal battles as it is currently blocked in court.
Reynolds said in a statement after she signed the bill that this will give law enforcement more power to enforce already existing immigration laws.
“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 legislation will be enacted on July 1.
The bill has already faced criticism from activists and migrants living in Iowa. Advocacy group Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice vowed to fight the new legislation in a statement on Wednesday.
“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. Immigrants’ rights organizations are ready to fight back and work to block this unconstitutional law from going into effect,” the statement read.
Mark Stringer, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, said the legislation was one of the “most extreme, discriminatory, and unconstitutional anti-immigrant bills” in the country when the Iowa state Legislature approved it last month.