Bishops in US election battleground state of Iowa call out state and federal lawmakers over immigration crisis

In response to the US immigration crisis the Catholic bishops of Iowa have taken aim at both state and federal lawmakers. The bishops have called on the former to seek alternatives to a new law that allows the state to deport undocumented immigrants back to their home country, while calling on the latter to “do their job” and a find a solution to the seemingly never-ending and intractable problem at the US border.

On 10 April, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law SF 2340 – a law that makes it a crime for undocumented immigrants to enter, attempt to enter, or be found in Iowa if they have previously been deported or barred from entering the United States. If arrested under the law, a person could be required to return to the foreign nation they came from; if a person refuses to return from where they came, they will be charged with a felony.

In a 1 May joint statement, the bishops of Iowa said they opposed the law because it focuses on punitive sanctions, undermines family unity, reduces humanitarian protections, and doesn’t provide any sort of solutions for long-time residents without legal status.

Furthermore, the bishops highlight that the law would allow state officials to prosecute an individual for state immigration crimes, even if that person’s application for immigration relief is pending before federal authorities, or they have received federal authorisation to be present. They also highlight that state and local officials have little training in interpreting federal immigration law.

“We ask officials to ensure the protection of human rights and dignity of the persons involved,” the Iowa bishops said in their statement, published through the Iowa Catholic Conference. “Families should receive special consideration and not be separated.”

The statement is signed by Archbishop Thomas Zinkula of Dubuque, Bishop R. Walker Nickless of Sioux City, and Bishop William Joensen of Des Moines. The statement is also signed by Father Kenneth Kuntz, the diocesan administrator of Davenport.

Iowa is typically deemed a crucial state in United States presidential elections due to its unique caucus system and its historical significance in the nomination process. Also, its demographics make it a swing state that both the respective Democratic and Republican Party candidates have a fair chance of winning – with this year’s US presidential election almost certainly pitting President Joe Biden against former President Donald Trump – while the heightened attention given to Iowa by media make it a crucial state for candidates seeking to gain momentum.

Notably, under the state’s new law, a police officer may not arrest or detain anyone over immigration issues if they are on certain premises or grounds, including those of a church, synagogue, or other established places of religious worship. Tom Chapman, the executive director of the Iowa Catholic Conference, told Crux on 6 May that the dioceses are aware of this aspect of the law, but unclear about how that might impact the dioceses’ response.

In a statement, Reynolds said the law is a direct response to the Biden administration’s inability to secure the border and enforce the nation’s immigration laws.

Although numbers have started to slightly drop, US Customs and Border Protection data shows that there were more than 555,000 land border encounters in the first three months of 2024 in the Southwestern region of the country.

“The Biden Administration has failed to enforce our nation’s immigration laws, putting the protection and safety of Iowans at risk,” Reynolds said. “Those who come into our country illegally have broken the law, yet Biden refuses to deport them.”

“This bill gives Iowa law enforcement the power to do what he is unwilling to do: enforce immigration laws already on the books,” Reynolds continued.

The Justice Department has threatened to sue Iowa over the new law, giving them until 7 May to suspend its enforcement. The law is scheduled to go into effect at the start of July.

In their statement, the Iowa bishops also address Congress’s inability to pass immigration reform. They acknowledge that Catholics may disagree on how to approach reforming the immigration system, while asking lawmakers in Washington, DC, to “resist easy answers and do their job”.

“As the Iowa Catholic Conference said decades ago, we again ask for ‘border protection policies that are consistent with humanitarian values and with the need to treat all individuals with respect, while allowing authorities to carry out the critical task of identifying and preventing entry of terrorists and dangerous criminals,” the bishops said.

“As we remember our history as immigrants in Iowa, let us work together towards a fair and compassionate resolution of our challenges with migration,” the bishops conclude.

Photo: Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) speaks at a campaign event for Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at The Grass Wagon in Council Bluffs, Iowa, 13 January 2024. Donald Trump scored a record-setting win over DeSantis in the Iowa caucuses before going on to secure a majority of delegates in the following primary elections and caucuses to become the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images.)

The post Bishops in US election battleground state of Iowa call out state and federal lawmakers over immigration crisis appeared first on Catholic Herald.