DES MOINES — Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force (LEITF) members in Iowa are sharing concerns regarding a new law’s effect on local communities.

Senate File 2340, signed into law last week by Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) and expected to go into effect July 1, will allow state officers to arrest migrants who enter the state after having been barred from the U.S. Longstanding legal precedent points to immigration enforcement as a federal responsibility.

“The problems at the southern border cannot be solved from Des Moines, Iowa,” said Marshalltown Chief of Police and LEITF Co-Chair Michael W. Tupper. “Playing politics with public safety never helps public safety. This law will make the job of law enforcement more difficult. It will diminish public safety because it will cause people to needlessly fear the police. This law has severely harmed community relationships that took decades to build.”

“Iowa local law enforcement has neither the training, staffing nor resources to involve themselves in immigration enforcement,” said Mark Prosser, retired Public Safety Director and Police Chief of Storm Lake. “This law and others like it will erect a barrier of fear between the diverse populations in our Iowa communities and their local law enforcement.”

In Texas, LEITF and other law enforcement leaders have expressed similar concerns about their state’s SB 4 law, which is currently on hold in the courts.

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