A new Iowa law has drawn the attention of a federal law enforcement agency, which is saying it plans to sue the state over the law that makes it a crime for a person to be in Iowa if they’ve previously been denied admission to the U.S.
The U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to Iowa officials, including Governor Kim Reynolds, on Thursday. According to the DOJ, the statute interferes with the federal government’s authority to enforce immigration law.
The Justice Department has already sued Texas to block a similar measure.
The DOJ told Reynolds it intends to sue unless the state agrees by May 7 to not enforce the law, according to the letter, which was first reported by the Des Moines Register.
This comes on the heels of some Wednesday evening rallies in Des Moines and a few other cities about Iowa’s law. Migrant rights advocates said the law is likely unconstitutional, and that it’s driving fear and confusion in immigrant communities.
The law, which is set to take effect on July 1, allows state and local officials to arrest and deport immigrants who illegally re-entered the country after being deported or denied entry.
Enya Cid is a student at Grandview University and a native of Mexico, spoke in one of the rallies.
“Politicians want to instill fear in our community. They want to use immigrants as scapegoats for the problems that Iowa faces. But we are not the problem. We are the solution,” Cid said
In an X/Twitter post on Friday, Reynolds wrote, “The only reason we had to pass this law is because the Biden Administration refuses to enforce the laws already on the books. I have a duty to protect the citizens of Iowa. Unlike the federal government, we will respect the rule of law and enforce it.”
In its letter, the Justice Department said the Iowa law violates the U.S. Constitution.
In Other news, a City of Sioux City employee has accused a supervisor of harassment and defamation of character.
The employee, Semehar Ghbrekidan, has been on administrative leave since late February from her city position as an inclusion department employee.
In a statement shared with Siouxland Public Media on Friday, Ghebrekidan asserts that Karen Mackey, the Human Rights Department leader, has done things that “run counter to the principles of unity.”
Ghebrekidan first aired her statements about Mackey inn the Thursday meeting of the city’s Human Rights Commission, as first reported by the Sioux City Journal. She was the first person to serve in that position created by city leaders in 2021.
"This is not a mere clash of personalities, this is a relentless assault on my dignity and well-being," Ghebrekidan wrote.
Mackey on late Friday afternoon gave a statement to Siouxland Public Media News: "I will be carefully reviewing the allegations made by Ms. Ghebrekidan and I will be taking appropriate legal measures to address the patently false and defamatory statements directed at me personally by Ms. Ghebrekidan verbally and in the written statements that she has been widely and intentionally circulating within the community."
Earlier this week, the University of South Dakota settled a lawsuit brought by Ghebrekidan, a former employee who alleged that she was called a “whore.”
USD and the South Dakota Board of Regents agreed to pay Semehar Ghebrekidan $100,000 – which included back pay and a nearly $25,000 fee to her attorney.
Additionally, the United States Postal Service has finalized its plan to downgrade the downtown Sioux Falls post office to a local processing center, shifting non-local mail operations to a facility in Omaha.
South Dakota News Watch reported the reorganization has sparked concerns about slower mail delivery to rural communities because letters and packages formerly processed and sent from Sioux Falls will now be routed through Omaha, 160 miles away.
Mail from rural South Dakota to nearby towns would go to Sioux Falls, then to Omaha, back to Sioux Falls and then to its final destination.
A similar downgrading happened to Sioux City about 15 years ago, so Northwest Iowa mail goes to Sioux Falls first, then back to Iowa.
The postal service expects the change to impact 35 non-managerial jobs and three management positions in Sioux Falls. The USPS said that the Sioux Falls facility would remain open as a local processing center and will get about $13 million in facility upgrades.
