Friend –

On Thursday, we joined forces with the American Immigration Council and National ACLU to file a federal lawsuit on behalf of the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice and two impacted people to block SF 2340, the worst, most far-reaching immigration law ever passed in the state of Iowa.

This Iowa law conflicts with existing federal law and will have a number of dramatic consequences for Iowans. It creates new crimes for anyone in Iowa, including a child, who has reentered the country after being deported, even if that person is now authorized to be in the U.S.

It affects Iowans like 18-year-old Anna, (not her real name), who was born in Honduras, where her father was murdered and her sister was kidnapped. She was brought to the U.S. with her mother when she was 14 and then deported. Shortly after, still fearing for her life, she reentered the U.S. again, this time unaccompanied. She applied for and received asylum and is now here lawfully, living with an Iowa family and attending high school. But under SF 2340, she can be arrested and deported to the Mexican border, where she has no family or connection.

Find out more about our lawsuit and why we are protecting the constitutional rights of immigrants.

With appreciation,

Mark Stringer
Executive Director, ACLU of Iowa