The Eighth Circuit has halted its freeze on the Iowa immigration law after the DOJ dropped a lawsuit against it brought under the Biden administration.
A federal appeals court has vacated its own ruling that had temporarily blocked an Iowa law criminalizing the reentry of individuals previously denied admission to the United States and mandating state-ordered deportations, after the Department of Justice (DOJ) voluntarily dismissed a Biden-era lawsuit against the state that sought to block the law permanently.
In an April 15
order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit dismissed the DOJ’s appeal as moot, vacated its previous
opinion upholding a preliminary injunction, and instructed the lower court to dismiss the case. The move followed a March 14
notice of voluntary dismissal filed by the DOJ under President Donald Trump.
The Biden administration had previously sued to block the law and argued that it was unconstitutional by creating a state-based immigration system that clashed at the time with federal rules.
The Iowa
law in question, SF 2340, was
signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds on April 10, 2024. It makes it a crime for any noncitizen who has been previously deported or denied entry to be found in Iowa, regardless of whether that individual has since received federal authorization to remain in the United States. The statute empowers state judges to issue return orders—effectively state-mandated deportations—and prohibits courts from pausing prosecutions even when federal immigration proceedings are ongoing.
“The Biden Administration has failed to enforce our nation’s immigration laws, putting the protection and safety of Iowans at risk,” Reynolds
said when signing the measure into law. At the time that the DOJ filed its dismissal notice, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird welcomed the move, calling it “a major victory for Iowans across the state.”
Advocates for illegal immigrants and refugees criticized the law and the DOJ’s withdrawal, warning that it would expose even lawfully present individuals, including children, to criminal prosecution and forced removal.
“This incredibly inhumane law would put lives and families at risk,” Erica Johnson, founding executive director of Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice, said in a statement. “It would take people—including mere children—who have been living here peacefully and contributing to their communities, sometimes for decades, and [set] them up for deportation.”
While the DOJ’s dismissal formally ends the federal government’s legal challenge, it does not open the door to enforcement of the Iowa immigration law just yet. SF 2340 remains blocked because of an
order granting a preliminary injunction in a separate lawsuit filed by immigrant rights organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Iowa and the American Immigration Council.
On April 15, the same day the Eighth Circuit dismissed the DOJ’s appeal, it also
granted a rehearing in the ACLU-led case and vacated its earlier decision, effectively reinstating the lower court’s preliminary injunction. This means that the law continues to be unenforceable as the separate lawsuit proceeds through the courts.
The DOJ’s action in Iowa was part of a broader March 14 policy shift under the Trump administration. The department also
dropped a similar lawsuit against Oklahoma’s HB 4156. That law authorizes state law enforcement to detain, prosecute, and order the removal of illegal immigrants under a newly created state offense of “impermissible occupation.”
While both the Iowa and Oklahoma laws were blocked in 2024 by federal district courts for conflicting with federal immigration law, the DOJ under Trump has reversed course, suggesting that it views such measures as complementing, rather than undermining, federal enforcement priorities.
After returning to the office for a second term, Trump signed 10 executive orders on border enforcement, ending the so-called catch and release policy, shutting down the CBP One app, declaring a border emergency, and increasing deportations.
Customs and Border Protection reported 8,326 apprehensions in February—Trump’s first full month in office—marking the lowest monthly total on record. Monthly apprehensions under President Joe Biden’s administration peaked at nearly 300,000.
Trump has decried years of what he described as “open borders” under Biden, whose term saw record-high numbers of illegal crossings.
