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March 5, 2025 |  By: Mark Moran - Public News Service

Court ban latest chapter in Iowa's quest to tighten immigration laws

a border fence

By Mark Moran - Public News Service

It's been about a month since a federal judge upheld a court ruling that blocks an Iowa immigration bill from taking effect.

It's the latest action in an ongoing effort by the state of Iowa to tighten its immigration laws.

The Iowa Legislature passed Senate File 2340 last year - which would have created new crimes for people who were deported and re-enter the country illegally, including children, even if they have been authorized to be in the U.S.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa's Communications Director Veronica Lorsen Fowler said the bill was unconstitutional, and would have set a dangerous precedent had the law gone into effect.

"It hands over enforcement from the federal government to local law enforcement," said Lorsen Fowler, "which might on the face of it sound likes it makes sense - except that immigration law is extremely complicated."

Lorsen Fowler says if the bill had become law, it would have conflicted with federal rules regarding enforcement of immigration laws. Iowa is among a handful of states trying to strengthen immigration policies. Border enforcement was among President Donald Trump's campaign pledges.

Lorsen Fowler said the judge putting the law on hold means Iowa's immigrant families don't have to live in fear. She said in the bigger picture, that's good for the communities where they live.

"Various law enforcement officials have said if the goal is to keep our communities safer, this law does not do that," said Lorsen Fowler. "And in fact, it does the opposite - because when you create fear in an immigrant community, when there are crimes, nobody will talk."

She explained that immigrants are afraid of being deported if they reach out to law enforcement. With Senate File 2340 on hold, she added, that fear is lifted.