Hunter
05/03/24
The US Department of Justice says they will sue the state of Iowa to block a new immigration law passed this session that criminalizes illegal reentry.
The Des Moines Register reports they obtained a letter written to Governor Kim Reynolds and Attorney General Brenna Bird. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton wrote that the department “intends to bring a lawsuit to enforce the supremacy of federal law and to enjoin” the new immigration law passed as Senate File 2340. Boynton said the law is preempted by federal law and violates the United States Constitution.
He gave the state a deadline of May 7 to suspend enforcement of the law before the DOJ takes action.
The new law authorizes Iowa officers to arrest undocumented immigrants who have previously been deported or banned from entering the country. A state judge could then order the guilty be deported back to their home country.
Boynton said the state law infringes on federal law and violates the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Governor Reynolds said the reason they passed the law is because the Biden administration refuses to enforce the federal law. In her statement to the Register, she said, “I have a duty to protect the citizens of Iowa. Unlike the federal government, we will respect the rule of law and enforce it.”