

By Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register
Des Moines, IA-Smuggling someone who is not a U.S. citizen for gain or to conceal them from law enforcement would become a state crime in Iowa under a bill that advanced Wednesday in the Iowa House.
Republicans’ push for the legislation comes the same week President Donald Trump took office, pledging to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
“States have got to start defending themselves,” said the bill’s author, Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison. “Because thank God we now have a new president in the White House but we had an administration for four years that did nothing on the southern border, allowed an invasion which impacted our citizens in a profound way.”
Rep. Lindsay James, D-Dubuque, a Presbyterian pastor, said she’s concerned the bill’s language has the potential to criminalize actions by religious groups seeking to support immigrants.
“I worry about this particular piece of legislation criminalizing religious communities and the unintended consequences of folks living out their faith commitment and unintentionally committing crimes,” she said. “So that is a big concern.”
Lawmakers voted 2-1 to advance the measure, House Study Bill 15, out of subcommittee on Wednesday, sending it to the full House Judiciary Committee for consideration. Holt and Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull, were in favor, while James was opposed.

House Republicans pursued a similar bill last year. The legislation passed the Iowa House but did not advance in the Iowa Senate.
Gov. Kim Reynolds did sign a separate immigration law creating a state crime of “illegal reentry” into Iowa for people who have previously been deported or barred from entering the United States. That law currently faces a pair of lawsuits and is blocked from being enforced while the legal challenges play out.
Reynolds last week directed Iowa’s state law enforcement agencies and prisons to “fully cooperate and assist” with Trump’s deportation efforts, in a memo released days before the president’s inauguration.
What would the ‘smuggling’ bill do?
The bill would create a new crime of “smuggling” an undocumented immigrant, which would apply to someone who acts “knowingly, for payment or some other benefit.”
Someone who transports an undocumented immigrant with the intent to conceal them from law enforcement, flee law enforcement or encourage them to illegally enter or remain in the United States or illegally enter or remain on agricultural land without the owner’s consent would be guilty of a class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Penalties would be increased if there is a substantial likelihood that the person being smuggled will suffer serious injury or death, or if the person being smuggled is under than 18, if the smuggler intended to benefit monetarily or if a gun was involved. Those circumstances would constitute a class B felony, punishable by up to 25 years in prison.
And the crime would be a class A felony, punishable by life in prison without parole, if the person who was smuggled is seriously injured, killed or sexually abused.
Religious groups, civil rights groups oppose the bill
A range of religious, civil rights groups, immigrants rights organizations and groups supporting domestic violence survivors spoke against the bill in Wednesday’s subcommittee.
Pete McRoberts, a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, said the bill doesn’t only apply to people who are in the United States illegally.

“The language of the bill doesn’t distinguish between noncitizens,” he said. “So this may be someone who has entered the country in violation of federal criminal law. This may be someone who has overstayed their visa, which is not a crime. This may also be a lawful permanent resident.”
Holt said he’s open to recommendations from the ACLU on changing the language in the bill.
“If we need to distinguish that we’re talking about somebody that’s not here legally as opposed to somebody with a green card, then we’ll absolutely do that,” he said.
Tom Chapman, executive director of the Iowa Catholic Conference, which opposes the bill, said the Catholic church views serving newcomers as “a core ministry of the church.”
“A country’s right to regulate its borders and enforce its immigration laws must be balanced with its responsibilities to uphold the sanctity of human life, respect the God-given dignity of all persons and enact policies that further the common good,” he said.

Iowa’s four Catholic bishops following Trump’s election in November published a letter to the state’s migrant community telling them “your Church stands with you in solidarity” and that “we will advocate for your just treatment and dignity within the framework of the law.”
Chapman said he’s concerned that Catholics who transport or offer shelter to undocumented immigrants could be subject to prosecution under the law.
“Does ‘encourage or induce a person to remain in the U.S.’ mean providing food or shelter to an immigrant?” he said. “We don’t want to get into a situation as we have seen in at least one other state where authorities are trying to shut down some Catholic ministries because they were helping migrants based on similar language.”
Laura Hessburg, a lobbyist for the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, which also opposes the bill, said she has similar concerns that organizers that serve domestic violence survivors could be caught up by the law and face prosecution for helping undocumented survivors access federal support or other resources.
Erica Johnson, a lobbyist with Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice, said her group believes the law is unnecessary and redundant because human trafficking is already illegal under federal law.
Holt said the legislation’s language specifying that the crime is only applicable to someone who acts knowingly and for payment or other benefit should address concerns that religious groups could be targeted.
“We’re not going after pastors and people trying to help people get to dental appointments or doctor appointments or things like that,” he said.
He rejected concerns that the bill would make Iowa unwelcoming.
“I think Iowa is welcoming for legal immigrants and I don’t intend for us to be welcoming to violators of the law and to illegal aliens,” he said. “We will be unwelcoming in that regard, because we stand up for the rule of law.”