American civil rights groups are suing Iowa over its immigrant arrest law

Civil rights groups filed a lawsuit Thursday to block an Iowa law that would allow the arrest and prosecution of people who have returned to the U.S. after being deported, as a growing number of Republican-led states consider similar proposals.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other groups filed a complaint in federal court in Des Moines, Iowa, alleging that the law known as SF 2340 unlawfully interferes with the federal government’s ability to Enforce U.S. immigration law. The ACLU and the Biden administration have made the same argument in lawsuits challenging a similar Texas law that has served as a model for Republican lawmakers across the country who say President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has failed to stem the recent increase tackling illegal border crossings. .

Iowa’s law makes “illegal reentry” into the state a crime punishable by up to two years in prison and gives state judges the authority to order individuals to return to their home countries after serving their sentences. The groups in the lawsuit say SF 2340 violates the system created by federal law for deporting people in the country illegally. And state law does not exempt people who have legal status in the United States, including asylum seekers and recipients of visas for survivors of domestic violence, the groups said.

“There are many good reasons – related to foreign relations, national security, humanitarian interests and our constitutional system – why the federal government is enforcing our immigration law, rather than letting all 50 states do their own thing,” said Rita Bettis. Austen, legal director of the ACLU Iowa chapter. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, a Republican who signed the bill last month, said in a statement that she has a responsibility to protect Iowans.

“As President Biden refuses to enforce our nation’s immigration laws – endangering the safety of our citizens – Iowa will step in,” Reynolds said. The U.S. Department of Justice warned Reynolds last week that it would file a lawsuit to block the Iowa law if it goes into effect. as she did in challenging the law passed by Texas.

A U.S. appeals court blocked the Texas law in March while considering the state’s appeal of a judge’s ruling that invalidated it. Meanwhile, Oklahoma last week passed a law similar to those in Texas and Iowa, and several other states are considering bills.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)