Trump administration moves to dismiss lawsuits against Iowa and Oklahoma over immigration laws

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Trump administration on Friday moved to dismiss lawsuits against Iowa and Oklahoma brought by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice, which challenged the states’ immigration laws making it a crime for someone to be in the state if they are in the U.S. illegally.

Republican governors and lawmakers across the country had accused then-President Joe Biden of failing to enforce federal immigration law and manage the southern border.

In response, Iowa and Oklahoma enacted similar laws that let state and local officials arrest and charge people who have outstanding deportation orders or who previously were removed from or denied admission to the U.S. Both laws followed one enacted in Texas.

The Biden administration sued Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma over the respective laws. Texas’ more expansive law was in effect for only a few confusing hours last March before a federal appeals court put it on hold.

The Iowa and Oklahoma laws have themselves been on hold while courts consider whether they unconstitutionally usurp federal immigration authority.

“The Biden administration’s absurd opposition to (Oklahoma’s law) was particularly frustrating since it was the White House’s gross negligence on border security that had made the state law so necessary in the first place,” Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a statement on Friday.

Trump ran for office on a pledge to crack down on illegal immigration and deport many who are living in the U.S. illegally, promises he acted on with executive orders during his first week in office that conflicted with the prior administration’s legal position in the two cases.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird described the Trump administration’s move to dismiss a “major victory” for Iowans.

“Today, President Trump, again, proved that he has Iowa’s back and showcased his commitment to Making America Safe Again by dropping Biden’s ridiculous lawsuit,” Bird said in a statement.

An immigrant rights group also sued Iowa last May over its law, but the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals recently issued a decision that complicates the legal battle now that the Trump administration has withdrawn the federal government’s complaint.

The appellate court said the lawsuit filed by Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice should be dismissed by the district court judge, arguing the U.S. v. Iowa lawsuit made it moot. Rita Bettis Austin, the legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, said in a statement Friday they intended to continue fighting to keep Iowa’s law from taking effect.

“With today’s DOJ filing, we remain steadfast in our commitment to working to keep this harmful law from being enforced in Iowa,” Austin said.

Lawyers representing Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice in February filed a petition for rehearing with the appellate court.

Associated Press reporter Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed.