On Monday, a federal judge temporarily halted the enforcement of an Iowa state law that would have permitted local authorities to arrest, charge, and deport immigrants previously denied entry or deported from the United States. The Biden administration filed suit against the state last month, asserting that the federal government retains exclusive authority under federal law to regulate the entry and removal of non-citizens. In a preliminary injunction, US District Court Judge Stephen Locher stated that the Justice Department is likely to succeed in its case.
As a matter of politics, the new legislation might be defensible,” Locher wrote in his ruling. As a matter of constitutional law, it is not.” Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who signed Senate File 2340 into law in April, criticized the judge’s decision.
Iowa’s legislation to deter illegal immigration has been BLOCKED – leaving us defenseless to the consequences of Biden’s Open Border,” she wrote on social media platform X. More crime, overdose deaths, and human trafficking. All because Biden won’t do his job!” she added.
The law, which was set to take effect on July 1, classifies being in the Hawkeye State as an aggravated misdemeanor offense – punishable by up to two years in prison – for migrants with outstanding deportation orders, those who have previously been deported, or individuals once prohibited from entering the United States. The crime is elevated to a felony offense if the person’s previous removal orders were tied to misdemeanor convictions for drug crimes, crimes against people, or any type of felony conviction.
Under the legislation, police are prohibited from arresting suspected migrants in violation of the law at places of worship, schools, or medical facilities. Arrested individuals may be allowed by a judge to leave the country without facing charges, as per the law’s text.
The Biden administration has also sued Texas and Oklahoma over similar measures. Texas’ more comprehensive law, which empowers state authorities to arrest, imprison, prosecute, and deport immigrants who enter the country between ports of entry, was put on hold by a federal appeals court’s three-judge panel in March. The DOJ is seeking to block Oklahoma’s law, which makes it a crime to enter Oklahoma without legal authorization to be in the US.
Iowa’s Republican top prosecutor announced that the state would appeal the preliminary injunction. Since Biden refuses to secure our border, he has left states with no choice but to do the job for him,” Attorney General Brenna Bird wrote on X. I will be appealing the court’s decision today that blocks IA from stopping illegal reentry and keeping our communities safe,” she added.
