The Department of Justice (DOJ) and several civil rights groups filed two lawsuits Thursday to block the immigration bill from taking effect in Iowa.
Before filing a lawsuit to prevent SF2340 The Justice Department has warned that it plans to sue Iowa over the law, which allows law enforcement to arrest previously deported undocumented immigrants ahead of its July 1 effective date.
The bill, signed by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) in April, also gives law enforcement certain powers to return illegal immigrants to their countries of origin.
“Iowa cannot ignore the U.S. Constitution and settled Supreme Court precedent,” Chief Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s civil division, said in a statement. statement. “We took this action to ensure that Iowa adheres to the immigration regulatory framework adopted by Congress and the Constitution.”
“The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Iowa, and the American Council on Immigration another lawsuitAccording to SF 2340 on Thursday iowa public radio.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Iowa Immigrants for Justice and Jane Doe and Elizabeth Roe. The magazine argues that SF 2340 “does not provide an exception for people who reenter the United States with federal consent or who later acquire lawful immigration status.”
“Nor does the law provide an exception for people in the process of obtaining immigration status,” the lawsuit continues.
The complaint further alleges:
And the law does not provide an opportunity to bring humanitarian claims seeking protection from deportation under federal immigration law or international treaties. Although people in these situations have explicit permission from the federal government to remain in the country, SF 2340 requires state authorities to force them to leave the country regardless or to punish them with up to 10 years in prison. It directs that additional punishment be imposed.
Upon signing the bill, Reynolds criticized the Biden administration for “failing to enforce” America’s “immigration laws.”
“People who enter our country illegally are breaking the law, and Biden is refusing to deport them,” Reynolds said. “This bill gives Iowa law enforcement the power to do what he doesn’t want to do: enforce immigration laws that are already on the books.”
States such as Texas and Oklahoma have passed similar laws.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (Republican) signed House Bill 4156 becomes law, allowing law enforcement to remove illegal aliens from the state. Under the bill, a crime called unauthorized occupancy would be created that would apply to people who entered the United States illegally and remained in the country.
2023, Texas passed it SB4; but was put on hold after several courts considered the issue.
