Louisiana lawmakers pass bill allowing state law enforcement to arrest and jail unlawful migrants

Louisiana lawmakers approved a bill allowing local and state law enforcement arrest and jail migrants who are in the U.S. unlawfully, the latest in a series of such measures passed by Republican-led states who claim the Biden administration is not doing enough in this area.

The law creates the crime of "illegal reentry" into the state, which could be punished with up to a year in prison and a $4,000 fine for the first offense, and up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine for second offenders.

Republican State Senator Valarie Hodges, who is sponsoring the bill, said it would also "start the deportation process," even though immigration enforcement at a national level has long been exclusively handled by the federal government.

That is the argument that the Biden administration and the Department of Justice have been giving when challenging the laws in the courts. Just on Tuesday, de DOJ sued Oklahoma over such a law, which makes it unlawful to live in the state without legal immigration status and can punish this with up to two years in prison.

The DOJ said Oklahoma is violating the U.S. Constitution and requested the court prevent the state from enforcing the law. "Oklahoma cannot disregard the U.S. Constitution and settled Supreme Court precedent," said in a statement U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department's Civil Division.

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, on his end, said the bill was necessary as a result of the Biden administration's lack of enforcement. "Not only that, but they stand in the way of states trying to protect their citizens," Stitt said in a statement. State officials said that even though the federal government has broad authority over immigration, it doesn't have "exclusive power."

Other states that signed similar laws are Texas, Georgia and Louisiana, with Texas' SB4 being the most notable of them all as it allows state police to arrest and deport unauthorized immigrants in the territory. Its implementation is currently halted by a federal Court of Appeals.

Other states, like Missouri and Kansas are in the process of also introducing similar laws. Iowa has already signed a similar bill into law, with the DOJ also challenging it in the courts.

Also this week a federal court temporarily blocked a key part of Florida's SB 1718, a law that punishes the transportation of undocumented people into the state.

Concretely, the law criminalizes people as human smugglers who "knowingly and willfully" cross the State line into Florida with people they know, or reasonably should know, are undocumented. It went into effect on July 1, 2023.

The decision took place in the context of a lawsuit filed against state Attorney General Ahsley Moody by the Florida Farmworkers Association, an organization advocating for the rights of immigrant workers. They said the law "not only violates the fundamental rights of people in the state, but also undermines their cultural richness and economic contributions."