Nolan writes:
“Iowa should consider waiting on SF 481 until the fate of the Texas anti-sanctuary bill is decided, which is likely to require a decision from the Supreme Court.
If Iowa actually needs a bill to eliminate sanctuary policies, it is not an urgent need.
State Senator Julian Garrett, the bill’s floor manager, has acknowledged that the vast majority of Iowa cities and counties cooperate with ICE enforcement efforts already.
And Iowa has a relatively small population of undocumented aliens. According to the PEW Research Center’s 2014 per-state estimate, Iowa only had 40,000 undocumented aliens in 2014, which was 1.3 percent of Iowa’s population. California had 2,350,000 undocumented aliens (6.0 percent of its population), and Texas had 1,650,000 (6.1 percent of its population).
[Graphic Omitted]
SF 481 also has substantial political opposition.
Numerous organizations have registered opposition to SF 481, including the Iowa League of Cities, Iowa State Bar Association, Iowa Police Chiefs Association, Iowa County Attorneys Association, Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, Iowa Catholic Conference, and Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Only one organization has registered support for SF 481, the Iowa Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.
Perhaps Iowa should just leave the decision on whether to cooperate with ICE up to the discretion of its police departments.
Nolan Rappaport was detailed to the House Judiciary Committee as an executive branch immigration law expert for three years; he subsequently served as an immigration counsel for the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims for four years. Prior to working on the Judiciary Committee, he wrote decisions for the Board of Immigration Appeals for 20 years.“
********************
Read Nolan’s complete article with more on the origins of Iowa SF 481 and the Texas litigation over at The Hill at the link.
I think Nolan is “right on” here. It appears that at present there is no need for this legislation.
PWS
12-29-17