A federal judge has temporarily blocked an Iowa law making it a crime for illegal immigrants who had previously been deported from the United States to enter Iowa. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds in April and was set to go into effect July 1. The legislation, Senate File (SF) 2340, would lead to aggravated misdemeanor charges for an illegal alien who enters, attempts to enter, or is found within the state after having been previously excluded, deported, or removed from the United States. The crime could be elevated to a class D felony if the individual was deported due to two or more misdemeanor offenses or to a class C felony if the suspect was deported due to a prior felony conviction. Reynolds and state legislators felt the law was needed to empower state and local authorities to enforce federal immigration law, claiming the Biden Administration was doing little to stem the tide of illegal immigration. The law was blocked on Monday on the grounds the Iowa law is preempted by federal immigration regulations. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, who defended the law in federal court, says, “I am disappointed in today’s court decision that blocks Iowa from stopping illegal reentry and keeping our communities safe. Since Biden refuses to secure our borders, he has left states with no choice but to do the job for him. We will be appealing the court’s decision to uphold Iowa’s immigration enforcement law.” That appeal would be heard in the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
