On Friday, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the Department of Justice under the Biden administration and upheld a temporary ban on an Iowa statute that makes it a state criminal for a person to be in Iowa if they are in the United States illegally.
However, a second order from the 8th Circuit U.S. judicial of Appeals raises issues about future judicial procedures now that Donald Trump is president.
In May, the department and a nonprofit that advocates for the rights of immigrants filed a lawsuit against Iowa regarding the law.
The law is similar to those in Texas and Oklahoma, which are also now on hold while courts determine whether or not they violate the Constitution by infringing on federal immigration power.
The Biden administration and the immigrant rights group were given a temporary hold on the bill by a district court judge, and Iowa appealed the decision.
The proposal would give state and local officials the authority to arrest and charge individuals who have outstanding deportation orders or who have previously been expelled from or denied entry into the United States.
According to the federal appeals court, the state statute would probably conflict with the discretion of federal officials in deciding how to implement immigration policy and would make U.S. foreign policy more complicated, “contrary to Iowa’s belief.”
However, the federal appeals court made a second ruling on Friday that could make the legal fight in Iowa more complicated if Trump’s administration decides to drop the complaint from the Department of Justice.
The federal appeals court stated that the district court judge should dismiss the case that the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice filed on behalf of its organization and two people. The reason for this is because the U.S. v. Iowa litigation makes it irrelevant.
The communications director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, one of the legal teams representing Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice, Veronica Fowler, stated, “At this time, we’re just determining what our legal next steps are because obviously we are committed to doing everything we can to strike down this really terrible law.”
A request for comment on the lawsuit’s future, which would go forward in the lower court, was not immediately answered by the Department of Justice.
Republican governors and congressmen across charged that President Joe Biden had failed to manage the southern border and enforce federal immigration law.
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Now, the majority are lined up to back Trump’s promise to tighten down on illegal immigration and deport a large number of people who are residing in the country illegally.
“We stand ready to utilize every tool at our disposal — whether through state law enforcement or the National Guard — to support President Trump in this vital mission,” according to a joint statement released in December by 26 Republican governors, including Kim Reynolds of Iowa.
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The “battle is far from over,” stated Brenna Bird, the attorney general of Iowa, in a statement on Friday.
“As President Trump works nationally to fix the mess Biden and (Vice President Kamala) Harris created on the southern border, we will continue fighting in Iowa to defend our laws and keep families safe,” Bird stated.
