Iowa bill to criminalize undocumented immigrants advances

Iowa senators passed a bill that would criminalize undocumented immigrants in the state.

The bill comes after already passing legislation that would penalize businesses that hire unauthorized immigrants. The bill would classify being an unauthorized immigrant as an aggravated misdemeanor, and it would scale up to a Class D or Class C felony for people who have other serious charges on their record. Senate Republicans argue the legislation addresses the failures of President Biden, and the bill’s sponsor listed several statistics about drug seizures this year. Senate Democrats say this would hurt immigrants in the country looking for a safe haven or when reporting sexual assault.

The bill says peace officers would not be able to detain an unauthorized individual at a hospital, place of worship or a school building. The bill still needs to pass the House.