Republican Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is expected to sign a measure into law similar to the Texas immigration law that is currently stuck in a court battle with the Biden administration.
On Tuesday, Iowa’s Republican-led state House passed Senate File 2340, a measure that would allow state law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants in the state who have previously been deported or denied entry into the U.S., the Des Moines Register reported. Every Republican but one voted in favor of the legislation while three Democrats also voted to pass the bill, making the final tally 64-30.
Senate File 2340 was previously passed by the state Senate, so the bill now heads to the governor’s desk. Reynolds said in a statement on Tuesday that she will sign the bill into law, meaning it will take effect on July 1.
“President Biden and his Administration have failed to enforce our immigration laws and, in doing so, have compromised the sovereignty of our nation and the safety of its people,” she said, according to the Des Moines Register. “States have stepped in to secure the border, preventing illegal migrants from entering our country and protecting our citizens. Americans deserve nothing less.”
Under the Iowa bill, a judge would be required to submit an order for a person convicted of illegally entering the U.S. to be returned to their home country. The legislation would also make illegal entry a class C felony — which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison — if the person was arrested for committing another felony.
The Texas immigration law, Senate Bill 4, has been subject to a tumultuous legal battle with the Biden administration and is currently on hold as the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals considers arguments. The appeals court placed a hold on the law just hours after the Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed it to take effect as litigation continues.
The Supreme Court’s decision to allow the Texas law to take effect was not on the merits of the case, which is why the 5th Circuit could once again put a stay on the law.
No matter how the 5th Circuit rules on the law, it appears likely the case will go back to the higher court as Texas Governor Greg Abbott has vowed to fight for the law’s enforcement all the way up to the Supreme Court. The Biden administration argues that the Texas law interferes with federal immigration law and violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
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The Supreme Court’s liberal minority showed their disapproval of the Texas law when they voted in dissent of the majority court opinion to allow the law to take effect as litigation plays out. Justice Sonia Sotomayor agreed with the Biden administration and warned of the consequences she believes will come from allowing the law to be enforced.
“The court gives a green light to a law that will upend the longstanding federal-state balance of power and sow chaos,” she wrote.
“Texas passed a law that directly regulates the entry and removal of noncitizens and explicitly instructs its state courts to disregard any ongoing federal immigration proceedings,” Sotomayor added. “That law upends the federal state balance of power that has existed for over a century, in which the National Government has had exclusive authority over entry and removal of noncitizens.”
Proponents of both Texas’ and Iowa’s immigration bills argue that their states have a constitutional right and duty to protect themselves from what they view as an invasion at the U.S. southern border.
“The status quo of federal government failure is unsustainable,” said Iowa state Rep. Steven Holt, the Republican who is the bill’s floor manager. “I believe that in order to protect our communities and our state, we must push the envelope. And that is what this legislation does.”