Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has vowed to enforce a law criminalizing illegal immigrants who have been denied entry into the United States after the Department of Justice (DOJ) threatened a lawsuit to block it.
Setting the stage for a potential legal battle, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird separately stated that the Hawkeye State would not “back down” in the face of what she deemed a threat.
Under the new law, authorities will have the power to arrest any individual in the state if the person has outstanding deportation orders, was previously removed from the United States, or was previously denied admission to Iowa.
The Republican governor, who signed the new state law on April 10, said the state would enforce it starting in July.
“The only reason we had to pass this law is because the Biden administration refuses to enforce the laws already on the books,” Ms. Reynolds said in a statement on May 3 provided to The Epoch Times by her office.
These remarks echo what the governor said when she signed the bill, when she accused the Biden administration of border policies that put the “safety of Iowans at risk.” Under normal circumstances, the federal government is responsible for enforcing immigration laws.
DOJ Letter: US Committed to ‘Processing of Noncitizens’
The governor’s comments come in response to a letter first reported by the Des Moines Register, sent by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton, stating that SF 2340 “violates the United States Constitution” and is preempted by federal law.In the letter, obtained by The Epoch Times, Mr. Boynton informs Ms. Reynolds that the DOJ “intends to bring a lawsuit to enforce the supremacy of federal law” and block the state’s new law.
“The United States intends to file suit to enjoin the enforcement of SF 2340 unless Iowa agrees to refrain from enforcing the law,” Mr. Boynton wrote. He added that the United States is “committed to the processing of noncitizens” and that the state’s law “is contrary to that goal.”
He has given the state a deadline of May 7 to suspend enforcement of the law before the DOJ takes action.
Iowa ‘Will Not Back Down’: Iowa AG
Iowa’s attorney general expressed defiance following the report, writing in a statement on social media platform X that the Hawkeye State “will not back down.”“Not only has Biden refused to enforce federal immigration laws & secure our border, he is now threatening to block states like IA from enforcing our own laws,” Ms. Bird wrote.
“Our message to Biden is this: [Iowa] will not back down & stand by as our state’s safety hangs in the balance. If Biden refuses to stop the border invasion & keep our communities safe, [Iowa] will do the job for him.”
Mr. Boynton invoked the Supreme Court in stating that removal processes are under the federal government’s purview as they touch on “foreign relations and must be made with one voice.”
He wrote that the state law “effectively creates a separate state immigration scheme” and that by authorizing state judges to order the removal of illegal immigrants, it “intrudes into a field that is occupied by the federal government and is preempted.”
Mr. Boynton also stated that the law violates the Immigration and Nationality Act and goes against “various provisions of federal law permitting noncitizens to seek protection from removal to avoid persecution or torture.”
Iowa’s governor has accused the Biden administration of refusing to deport people who have entered the country illegally.
In a statement released when she signed the new law, Ms. Reynolds said it would give “Iowa law enforcement the power to do what [President Joe Biden] is unwilling to do: enforce immigration laws already on the books.”
Under the legislation, once a suspect is in custody, he or she can choose to leave the country based on a judge’s order or face additional charges. However, the order must contain information about the transportation method the suspect can use to leave the country and the law enforcement agency responsible for ensuring that he or she complies with the order.
Activists Decry Law
Advocacy group Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice wrote in an April 10 statement on its Facebook page that the law would “perpetuate partisan campaign rhetoric, drive fear in immigrant communities, and mobilize voters using fear and anti-immigrant sentiment.”“Immigrants’ rights organizations are ready to fight back and work to block this unconstitutional law from going into effect,” the statement from the group reads.
Mark Stringer, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, referred to the bill as “discriminatory” and “unconstitutional.”
