In the Iowa Legislature, a bill that would require local police to partner with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on immigration enforcement won’t advance ahead of a key deadline coming on Friday, likely leaving it dead for the legislative session.
Immigrant rights advocates strongly opposed the bill, saying it would lead to racial profiling and undermine police relationships with immigrant communities.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Steven Holt, a Republican from Denison, said he decided to not advance the bill because of concerns from law enforcement groups.
“The main one that I heard that sort of hit home with me was the concern about manpower. If they were mandated to do this, and they didn’t have the manpower, how that could impact other aspects of public safety,” Holt said.
Holt says he’s hoping to advance a new immigration-related bill. It says law enforcement officers could be charged with a felony if they refuse to cooperate with federal requests that enable ICE to arrest people being released from jail.
