Iowa’s Des Moines ( AP )- The state’s justice department filed a lawsuit on Thursday over its new law, which would grant the state the authority to arrest and arrest some immigrants. This is the second complaint filed in a single moment to challenge state law that was passed earlier this year.
The Justice Department’s petition and another lawsuit brought by legal rights and immigrant rights organizations both claimed that federal law may be overturned.
” Iowa cannot disregard the U. S. Constitution and settled Supreme Court precedent”, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, mind of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a statement. We have taken this action to ensure that Iowa adheres to the immigration rules platform that Congress and the Constitution have adopted.
The national action was expected, as the Department of Justice , warned Iowa’s best officials , last week that the company may sue unless they agreed not to maintain the new rules. The Justice Department and civil rights organizations have raised objections to the more expansive Texas statute, which is similar to the law.
On behalf of the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice and two individual Iowans, the ACLU of Iowa, the national ACLU, and the American Immigration Council filed a lawsuit to stop the law.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa’s Rita Bettis Austen, its legal director, said,” This ugly law seriously harms Iowa families and communities.” ” Iowa lawmakers intentionally targeted people who are legally permitted to live here and are protected by federal immigration laws.”
Attorney General of Iowa Brenna Bird stated on Thursday that President Joe Biden has n’t secured the southern border, and that the state will not revert to this position.
” Iowa’s law is not unique, it simply enforces immigration laws while Biden refuses to”, Bird said in a written statement. Iowa is prepared to support the immigration law that protects Iowan communities.
The state’s immigrant communities are more worried that the law’s implementation will cause racial and ethnic profiling, impede police communication, or avert community members from reporting crimes. In response to the questioners ‘ questions, activists and advocacy groups, including one named in the suit, have held gatherings and staged protests.
Texas was allowed to enforce the law for , only a few confusing hours , in March before it was put on hold by a federal appeals court’s three- judge panel. The panel heard arguments by both supporters and opponents in April, and will next issue a decision on the law’s constitutionality.
Since immigration law enforcement is a binational process, law enforcement officials and legal experts have said that there are still unanswered questions regarding how the laws in Iowa and Texas will be implemented.
The Iowa law, which goes into effect on July 1, would allow for the prosecution of immigrants who have detained or had previously been detained or denied admission to the United States. They could also face jail time before being deported.
The federal lawsuit contends that state law should not be enforced because the Constitution specifically appoints the federal government to manage international borders and regulate immigration.
The Iowa lawsuit also contends that the law conflicts with federal law and could compel police to detain those who are legally resident in the country, such as those who have been granted asylum or a visa. According to the lawsuit, the law could lead to the arrest of children by their parents in Iowa.
” It will create absolute chaos and human suffering in our legal system, and harm Iowa communities”, said Melloy Goettel, legal director at the American Immigration Council.
Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican who signed the new legislation into law, reiterated her support for the change.
In a written statement that repeated the claims made by other Republican leaders, Reynolds wrote,” I have a responsibility to protect the citizens of Iowa.” Iowa will step in because President Biden refuses to impose immigration laws that threaten the safety of our citizens.
