The Biden administration warned Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday that legal action will be taken if it enforces a new law that allows authorities to arrest migrants who were previously denied entry or deported from the US — as she and the state attorney general vow they “will not back down.”
In a letter to the Hawkeye State governor, a Justice Department official called the measure unconstitutional and gave the state a May 7 deadline to suspend enforcement of Senate File 2340, which Reynolds signed into law earlier this month.
“SF 2340 is preempted by federal law and violates the United States Constitution,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton wrote, according to the Des Moines Register.
The DOJ official argued that the law “effectively creates a separate state immigration scheme,” which “intrudes into a field that is occupied by the federal government and is preempted.”
Boynton further claimed the law violates the Immigration and Nationality Act and conflicts “with various provisions of federal law permitting noncitizens to seek protection from removal to avoid persecution or torture.”
Iowa’s new law, which goes into effect on July 1, makes it an aggravated misdemeanor offense — punishable by up to two years in prison — for migrants to be in the Hawkeye State if they have outstanding deportation orders, were previously deported or were at one point barred from entering the US.
The law elevates the crime to a felony offense if the person’s previous removal orders were related to misdemeanor convictions for drug crimes, crimes against people or any type of felony conviction.
Police are barred from arresting suspected migrants in violation of the law at places of worship, schools or medical facilities.
Arrested individuals may be allowed by a judge to leave the country and not face charges, according to the law’s text.
Convicted migrants could also be forcibly deported by judges.
“The only reason we had to pass this law is because the Biden Administration refuses to enforce the laws already on the books,” Reynolds wrote on X, signaling that she has no plans to not enforce the new law.
“I have a duty to protect the citizens of Iowa,” she added. “Unlike the federal government, we will respect the rule of law and enforce it.”
Iowa’s Republican top prosecutor said the state “will not back down” despite the lawsuit threat.
“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,” Attorney General Brenna Bird wrote on X.
“Our message to Biden is this: IA will not back down & stand by as our state’s safety hangs in the balance,” she added. “If Biden refuses to stop the border invasion & keep our communities safe, IA will do the job for him.”
The law is similar to Texas’ SB4 legislation, which makes crossing the border illegally a state crime and allows state authorities to arrest, jail, prosecute and deport migrants who enter the country between ports of entry.
Texas’ law, a part of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star initiative, has been blocked by an appeals court pending litigation.