A federal judge has reportedly blocked the state of Iowa from enforcing its own immigration law.
On Monday, Judge Stephen Locher temporarily blocked Iowa from making it a crime to enter the state after being deported or denied entry into the United States, according to a report by the New York Times.
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“As a matter of politics, the new legislation might be defensible,” Judge Locher, who was appointed by President Biden, said. “As a matter of constitutional law, it is not.”
President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly sued Iowa over the legislation, asserting that it is solely the federal government’s responsibility to deal with the issue of illegal immigration.
The Iowa law was backed by Republicans in the state seeking to take authority over illegal immigration, given that the federal government has apparently failed to do so.
“I am disappointed in today’s court decision that blocks Iowa from stopping illegal reentry and keeping our communities safe,” Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird (R) said. “Since Biden refuses to secure our borders, he has left states with no choice but to do the job for him.”
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State lawmakers say they will appeal Judge Locher’s order.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) said, “The Biden administration is failing to do their job and enforce federal immigration laws allowing millions to enter and re-enter without any consequence or delay.”
“I signed this bill into law to protect Iowans and our communities from the results of this border crisis: rising crime, overdose deaths and human trafficking,” Reynolds added.
Iowa is not the only Republican-led state that has been recently blocked from enacting its state-level law seeking to tackle illegal immigration this year amid the failures of the Biden administration.
Texas has also been blocked by federal judges from enforcing a new law that gave police officers the authority to arrest and deport illegal immigrants. Florida, meanwhile, was recently blocked from making it a crime to transport illegal immigrants into the state.
Notably, the DOJ has also filed a lawsuit over recently passed legislation in Oklahoma that made it a state crime for an illegal immigrant to be in the Sooner State.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.