The Department of Justice, along with civil rights groups, has taken legal action by filing two separate lawsuits on Thursday. Their objective is to prevent the implementation of a contentious immigration law in Iowa, referred to as SF 2340.
SF 2340 grants local law enforcement officers the authority to apprehend individuals who have been previously deported or removed from the country, or have been denied entry in the past. Additionally, judges are empowered to issue orders for the return of such individuals to their country of origin.
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Children can still face charges under the law.
The DOJ’s complaint comes just one week after Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton wrote a letter to Gov. Kim Reynolds, which ABC News obtained, pressing her to overturn the law by May 7 or face legal consequences.
State lawmakers passed the bill last month, and Gov. Kim Reynolds signed it; it will go into effect on July 1.
“Iowa cannot ignore the United States Constitution or established Supreme Court precedent,” Boynton said in a statement. “We have initiated this action to guarantee Iowa’s adherence to the Congress-adopted framework and the Constitution for immigration regulation.”
The bill heavily drew inspiration from a similar Texas law, Senate Bill 4, also known as SB 4, which is currently under court review to determine its constitutionality. The Department of Justice also filed a lawsuit challenging that statute, which authorizes local law enforcement authorities to arrest migrants suspected of entering the nation illegally. It, like the Iowa statute, gives a judge the authority to order someone’s expulsion from the nation.
Early Thursday, the American Immigration Council, American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Iowa filed a separate lawsuit on behalf of the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice and two individuals representing the immigrant rights organization.
The group’s lawyers in the case asserted that the legislation does not provide any exemptions for individuals who have faced deportation or denied admission, but later received permission to stay in the country. The groups assert that this implies the detention and imprisonment of individuals who have received asylum, are members of a protected class, or possess green cards.
In the case, an 18-year-old Honduran migrant recounts the murder of her father and the kidnapping of her sister in her homeland. According to the ACLU, she arrived in the United States at the age of 14, but faced deportation. Later, she independently returned to the United States and received refuge.
The groups claim she would be eligible for arrest and jail under the legislation.
A conviction under the legislation carries a prison sentence ranging from two to ten years. According to the statute, removing an offender “subsequent to a conviction for the commission of two or more misdemeanors involving drugs, crimes against a person, or both” could result in up to 5 years in jail under a Class D felony.
Others who have previously been removed due to a felony conviction may face a Class C felony charge and up to ten years in jail. A removal order would apply to all guilty individuals, with the option for some to opt for removal over additional prosecution.
“This terrible law is extremely detrimental to Iowa families and communities. According to ACLU of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis Austen, Iowa lawmakers deliberately targeted those lawfully authorized to be here under federal immigration laws, such as asylum seekers or survivors of domestic abuse or other crimes. It’s difficult to express how horrible and strange this law is.
In a post on X, Gov. Reynolds accused President Joe Biden of failing to enforce current immigration rules.
“The DOJ and the ACLU are suing Lowa for safeguarding our citizens, while Joe Biden refuses to enforce existing immigration laws. “If he won’t uphold the rule of law, Lowa will!” the governor wrote.
