Current:Home > StocksIowa law allows police to arrest and deport migrants. Civil rights groups are suing -Visionary Growth Labs
Iowa law allows police to arrest and deport migrants. Civil rights groups are suing
View
Date:2025-04-25 08:42:03
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A new law in Iowa that makes it a crime to be in the state if previously denied admission to the U.S. conflicts with federal law and could lead to the deportation of people who are legally in the country, civil rights and immigrant rights groups argue in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday.
The suit marks the first legal action taken against Iowa in response to the law, though the U.S. Department of Justice warned the state’s top officials last week that the agency would sue unless they agreed not to enforce it.
The complaint filed in U.S. District Court alleges that the new statute steps on the federal government’s authority to enforce immigration law. The law is similar to a more expansive Texas statute that has been challenged by both the Justice Department and civil rights groups.
“This ugly law is deeply harmful to Iowa families and communities,” said Rita Bettis Austen, legal director of The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa. “Iowa lawmakers knowingly targeted people who are protected by federal immigration laws and who are legally allowed to be here.”
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said Thursday that the state would not back down, and that the law existed because President Joe Biden hasn’t secured the southern border.
“Iowa’s law is not unique; it simply enforces immigration laws while Biden refuses to,” Bird said in a written statement. “Iowa stands ready to defend our immigration law that keeps Iowa communities safe.”
The ACLU of Iowa, national ACLU and the American Immigration Council filed the suit Thursday on behalf of the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice and two individual Iowans.
The Iowa law has increased fear among immigrant communities in the state that enforcement would lead to racial and ethnic profiling, complicate interactions with police or dissuade community members from reporting crime. Activist and advocacy groups, including one named in the suit, have hosted gatherings to try to answer people’s questions and organized protests in response.
Texas was allowed to enforce the law for only a few confusing hours in March before it was put on hold by a federal appeals court’s three-judge panel. The panel heard arguments by both supporters and opponents in April, and will next issue a decision on the law’s constitutionality.
Some law enforcement officials and legal experts have said unanswered questions remain about how the laws in Iowa and Texas would be implemented, since enforcement of immigration law has historically fallen to the federal government and is a binational process.
The Iowa law, which goes into effect on July 1, would allow criminal charges to be brought against people who have outstanding deportation orders or who previously have been removed from or denied admission to the U.S. Once in custody, migrants could either agree to a judge’s order to leave the U.S. or be prosecuted, potentially facing time in prison before deportation.
The Iowa lawsuit contends that the law conflicts with federal law and could direct police to arrest people who are authorized to be in the U.S., such as people who have been granted asylum or have visas. The suit said the law could result in the prosecution of children brought to Iowa by their parents.
“It will create absolute chaos and human suffering in our legal system, and harm Iowa communities,” said Melloy Goettel, legal director at the American Immigration Council.
Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican who signed the new legislation into law, reiterated her support for the change.
“As Governor, I have a responsibility to protect the citizens of Iowa,” Reynolds said in a written statement that repeated the arguments of other Republican leaders. “Since President Biden refuses to enforce our nation’s immigration laws — threatening the safety of our citizens — Iowa will step in.”
veryGood! (4455)
Related
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- Blake Lively Shares Cheeky “Family Portrait” With Nod to Ryan Reynolds
- Biden tests positive for COVID
- Sheryl Lee Ralph overjoyed by Emmy Awards nomination: 'Never gets old'
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Kourtney Kardashian Reveals When She’ll Stop Breastfeeding Baby Rocky
- Is vaping better than smoking? Here's what experts say.
- Pro-war Russian athletes allowed to compete in Paris Olympic games despite ban, group says
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- The challenges of navigating an unrelenting news cycle
Ranking
- Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
- 'The Boys' adds content warning on Season 4 finale after Trump assassination attempt
- Navy exonerates Black sailors in deadly 1944 port blast. Families say it was long overdue.
- Cucumbers sold at Walmart stores in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana recalled due to listeria
- 'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
- 'Twisters' movie review: Glen Powell wrestles tornadoes with charm and spectacle
- Kelsey Grammer got emotional when 'Frasier' returned to Seattle for Season 2 episode
- Britney Spears Tells Osbourne Family to “F--k Off” After They Criticize Her Dance Videos
Recommendation
Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
Pedro Hill: What is cryptocurrency
US agency says apps that let workers access paychecks before payday are providing loans
Blake Lively Shares Cheeky “Family Portrait” With Nod to Ryan Reynolds
Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
U.S. Navy exonerates Black sailors unjustly punished in WWII Port Chicago explosion aftermath
Tornado damage could affect baby formula supplies, Reckitt says
Tom Sandoval sues Ariana Madix for invasion of privacy amid Rachel Leviss lawsuit