Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird filed an appeal yesterday (Thursday) to a federal judge’s ruling that blocked Iowa’s latest immigration law from going into effect. The law, which would have become enforceable on July 1, made it a crime for illegal aliens who had previously been deported or excluded from the United States to enter, attempt to enter, or be found within the state’s border. The move would have empowered state and local authorities to enforce existing federal immigration laws. The judge ruled on June 17 that Iowa’s new law is preempted by federal authority. Bird, who indicated the state’s plan to appeal immediately after the judge’s ruling, says, “Iowa won’t back down. Today, my office filed an appeal to defend Iowa’s immigration enforcement law that keeps Iowa families safe. We can’t afford to stand by any longer as Biden’s border crisis rolls out a welcome mat for drug cartels, human traffickers, and suspected terrorists to invade our home communities. If Biden won’t do his job to secure our borders, Iowa will.” The case will be heard in the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
