Area law enforcement agencies respond to state sanctuary city ban

Gov. Kim Reynolds quietly stamped her signature on Senate File 481 late last month following a grueling season of debate in the Statehouse, where officials argued over the risks of banning sanctuary city/municipality behaviors in Iowa.
The new law forbids city and county level governments from asking their respective law enforcement agencies to deviate from federal immigration laws.
The laws, which hand the rights to “detainer requests” to federal agencies, permit federal immigration investigators to request a law enforcement facility keep an individual incarcerated if he or she is suspected of illegal status in the country.
According to SF 481, local governments that refuse to abide by federal immigration laws are at risk of losing state and federal funding.
Supporters of the law believe that it is a positive step in public safety and national security measures; those opposed are firm in the belief that it is a gateway to racial profiling and jeopardizes police officers’ relationship with the public, especially minority communities.
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