By Daniel Wiessner
(Reuters) -A U.S. appeals court refused on Friday to allow Iowa to implement a law allowing for the arrest and prosecution of people who are in the country illegally.
The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Republican-led state’s law, which had been set to take effect in July before it was blocked by a judge, would interfere with the federal government’s ability to enforce U.S. immigration laws.
“Decisions about the removal of illegal aliens touch on foreign relations and must be made with one voice,” Circuit Judge Duane Benton wrote for the court.
Iowa’s law would make “illegal reentry” into the state a crime punishable by up to two years in prison and authorize state judges to order that individuals return to their home countries after serving sentences.
The ruling keeps the state law blocked pending the outcome of a lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice, which sued Iowa last year during the administration of Democratic former President Joe Biden.
The administration of Republican President Donald Trump could drop the challenge, along with lawsuits seeking to strike down similar laws adopted by Texas and Oklahoma. Civil rights groups have also sued over the state laws.
Trump has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration, including by deporting millions of people, and has already issued a raft of related orders in his first few days in office.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, a Republican, in a statement said “Iowa stood strong against the Biden-Harris border invasion that made every state a border state. And despite today’s court ruling, the battle is far from over.”
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iowa is one of several states where Republican officials critical of Biden’s border policies had passed laws aimed at increasing states’ powers to address illegal immigration, which was a top issue in the November presidential election.
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Rod Nickel and David Gregorio)
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