A number of civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Iowa and the American Immigration Council, filed a lawsuit against the state of Iowa challenging the legality of a new immigration enforcement law, SF 2340, which was signed by Republican Governor Kim Reynolds.
This law empowers state and local law enforcement officers to arrest and press charges against illegal immigrants who either have outstanding deportation orders or have reentered the U.S. after being previously deported or denied entry.
“Iowa is NOT backing down.”
Joe Biden’s DOJ is fighting tooth and nail to keep the border open.
When Iowa tries to defend itself with a new immigration law, the Biden DOJ threatens to sue.
But @BrennaBird says Iowa will fight to enforce the law. pic.twitter.com/UZkg6LygJv
— Daniel Baldwin (@baldwin_daniel_) May 6, 2024
“Supporters of this law say they passed it because they are tired of the way the federal government and the current administration is handling immigration enforcement. We can all agree that our immigration system needs improvement, but this law is no solution,” Erica Johnson, founding executive director of Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice, said in a statement issued on Thursday. “Instead, it increases fear among Iowa’s immigrant communities and overwhelms local groups who are doing the real work of finding solutions and creating thriving communities.”
The lawsuit contends that the law conflicts with the Biden administration’s ability to enforce federal immigration laws, as reported by NBC News. The ACLU of Iowa also argues that the law will lead to increased racial profiling and the separation of families.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has expressed the state’s firm stance on defending the law despite threats from the Biden administration’s Department of Justice, which had previously considered suing Iowa if the law was not repealed. “Iowa won’t back down. We will defend our law, even if the federal government is going to sue us,” Bird stated during a Fox News interview on Sunday. “Iowa has an immigration problem. Iowa isn’t a border state, we’re a long way from the border, but now every state is a border state with the border so out of control.”
SF 2340 is scheduled to take effect on July 1. This legislative move aligns with other states like Texas, which has also taken measures to enforce stricter immigration laws independently of federal policies. This includes deploying the National Guard to its southern border and preventing Border Patrol from intervening in border enforcement actions.
The surge in illegal immigration has been notable during the Biden administration, with Border Patrol recording approximately 1.6 million migrant encounters at the southern border in fiscal year 2021, escalating to over 2 million in fiscal year 2023, and surpassing a million in just the first six months of fiscal year 2024, according to data from Customs and Border Protection.
The foreign-born population in Iowa showcases a significant diversity in terms of countries of origin. As of the most recent data, the foreign-born population totals 190,727 individuals, which makes up 6.0% of the Hawkeye state’s overall population. This group has seen a substantial increase over the years, with a 109.4% increase from 2000 to 2022. Breaking down the demographics by region of birth, 32,561 individuals were born in Africa, representing 17.1% of the foreign-born population. The largest group, from Asia, comprises 61,520 individuals or 32.3%. European-born individuals total 20,648, accounting for 10.8%, while those from Latin America (including South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean) make up the largest regional group with 67,643 individuals, or 35.5%. Smaller numbers come from Northern America (Canada, Bermuda, Greenland, and St. Pierre and Miquelon) and Oceania, with 2,623 and 5,732 individuals respectively, according to data from Migration Policy Institute.
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Author: Nicholas Dolinger
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