The Associated Press reported on Sunday that the state Legislature has introduced an expansive immigration-enforcement bill that would require local governments to abide by federal agents or risk losing funds. If passed, federal agents could require law enforcement to hold a jailed person for potential deportation, overriding existing policies that prohibit local authorities from participating in federal immigration work.
With at least one vote scheduled for this week, the bill comes at a particularly contentious time for legislative progress on immigration reform, amid many blaming DACA disputes for the government shutdown. Across the country, mothers and fathers without criminal records are facing deportation. And while it’s alarmingly easy to view this issue as a political talking point, impassioned protests at our State Capitol show the effects of failed immigration reform will be and have been extensive and catastrophic.
The measure introduced by the Legislature will only add to the mess. While arrests at the border are at a 46-year low under President Donald Trump, the federal government’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants without criminal records increased arrests by 42 percent from 2016 to 2017. Although the Legislature’s bill excludes those who commit minor offenses such as traffic violations, there’s no doubt allowing federal meddling in local law-enforcement procedures, and thus superseding longstanding policies, sets a dangerous precedent. All Iowans, especially Republicans who purportedly champion states’ rights, should be concerned about the federal government interfering with local affairs — whether building a wall on the southern border is one of your priorities or not.
According to the Pew Research Center, approximately 40,000 undocumented immigrants were in Iowa in 2014. Do we really want to gamble on the effects of further marginalizing undocumented people in our communities, especially in tightly knit ones like Storm Lake and Marshalltown, potentially scaring them from reporting crimes and making all of us less safe? Do we really want our local police to endure the bureaucratic nightmare of working alongside ICE agents? If this bill passes, where will we draw the line in surrendering our state’s autonomy?
