Eight circuits have stopped freezing the Iowa immigration law after the DOJ stopped the lawsuit filed under the Biden administration.
After voluntarily dismissing a Biden-era lawsuit against a state that the Department of Justice (DOJ) attempted to permanently block the law, it invalidated its own ruling that previously refused hospitalization to the United States and temporarily blocked Iowa law criminalizing re-entry for individuals who had previously refused to be hospitalized in the United States and required state-ordered deportation.
In an order on April 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals in the 8th Circuit dismissed the DOJ appeal as MOOT, losing its previous opinion in favour of the provisional injunction and directed the lower court to dismiss the case. The move follows a March 14 notice of voluntary dismissal submitted by the DOJ under President Donald Trump.
The Biden administration previously sued to block the law, claiming it was unconstitutional by creating a state-based immigration system that clashed with federal regulations.
The questionable Iowa law, SF 2340, was signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds on April 10, 2024. It is a crime for non-citizens who have been previously deported or denied entry to be found in Iowa, whether or not an individual has been federally approved to remain in the United States. The law allows state judges to issue return orders (effectively state-duty deportation), and prohibits courts from suspending prosecutions even when federal immigration cases are ongoing.
“The Biden administration has failed to enforce immigration laws in our country, putting the protection and safety of Iowans at risk,” Reynolds said when signing the law. When DOJ filed a notice of fire, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird welcomed the move, calling it a “big victory for Iowanians across the state.”
Advocates of illegal immigration and refugees criticize the law and the withdrawal of the DOJ, and even to criminal prosecution and forced removal of individuals, including children.
“This incredibly inhumane law will put lives and families at risk,” Erica Johnson, executive director of the Iowa Immigrant Justice Movement, said in a statement. “We need people who live peacefully here, sometimes for decades, who have served our community, sometimes for decades, and who set them up for deportation.”
The DOJ’s firing formally ends the federal legal agenda, but the door to Iowa immigration law enforcement has not yet been opened. SF 2340 remains blocked by an order that granted a provisional injunction in another lawsuit filed by Iowa’s ACLU and the US Immigration Council.
On the same day, on April 15, the 8th Circuit dismissed the DOJ’s appeal, and also allowed rehearsals in ACLU-led cases, nullifying previous decisions and effectively restoring the lower court’s interim injunction. This means that the law continues to be unenforceable as separate cases progress through the courts.
The DOJ’s actions in Iowa were part of a broader policy shift on March 14 under the Trump administration, lowering a similar lawsuit against HB 4156 in Oklahoma. The law allows state law enforcement agencies to detain, prosecute and order the removal of illegal immigrants under the newly created state crime of “powerless occupation.”
Both Iowa and Oklahoma laws were blocked last year by the federal district courts to face federal immigration laws, but Trump’s DOJ believes that such a measure complements, rather than undermining, federal enforcement priorities.
After returning to the office for the second period, Trump signed 10 executive orders on border enforcement, ended the so-called “catch and release” policy, shut down one CBP app, declared a border emergency and increased deportation.
Customs and Border Protection reported 8,326 anxiety in February (Trump’s first month inauguration). Monthly concerns under Biden peaked at around 300,000.
Trump has denounced years of what he described as an “open boundary” under President Joe Biden.
