Mississippi may soon criminalize illegal immigration under State law and allow the Mississippi Department of Public Service to collect identifying information about any undocumented immigrants in the state.
“We’re making it a crime for a person to come into Mississippi, not through a proper port of entry, but to come into Mississippi directly from another country,” Mississippi Sen. Angela Hill, R-Picayune, said when introducing her bill on the Mississippi Senate floor on Tuesday. “So, if someone comes into Mississippi through the Gulf of America and not through a port of entry, this would create a state crime, a felony for somebody coming into Mississippi and bypassing an illegal port of entry.”
She admitted that it is “rare” for a person to illegally come into the state by boat or plane but said that “we know that it does happen.”
Undocumented immigrants who illegally enter the state by a plane or boat from another country could face imprisonment for at least two years under Senate Bill 2114. Hill said the goal of her legislation is to align State law with federal law.
Senate Bill 2114’s Constitutionality Questioned
For the most part, the federal government has the power to enforce immigration. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that federal laws preempt state laws on immigration, including the imposition of state-level penalties that run parallel with federal penalties.
Mississippi Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Briggs Hopson, R-Vicksburg, asked if the provision under Hill’s bill was constitutional and she said yes, it is.
“I think our government ought to be doing things related to immigration, but wouldn’t you agree with the Supreme Court, the current law in our country is that this is a federal issue and not a state issue?” he asked Hill on the Senate floor. “Don’t you think that by creating a state crime, this is unconstitutional on its face?”
“What I would say is that if this body had not fought to overturn Roe v. Wade, we’d still have a clinic over there that’s pink,” Hill said, pointing to the left, referencing the Pink House, Mississippi’s last abortion clinic that closed in Jackson in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. “The bills that are moving through the system now through Texas and Oklahoma, they may potentially change that ruling. There’s nothing that says we can’t do this right now.”
Texas passed a law in 2023 to allow law enforcement to detain people that officers suspect are not U.S. citizens who enter or attempt to enter the state illegally from another country. Law enforcement could charge a person with “illegal entry” to Texas, which could land the person in jail for up to six months. Federal courts have blocked the law from taking effect while litigation is ongoing.
A 2024 Oklahoma House law could prevent entire categories of immigrants from entering the state and the State could order those people to leave Oklahoma, even if they were working toward becoming legal citizens. A federal court has temporarily blocked it from going into effect.
‘Conform with Federal Law’
Mississippi S.B. 2114 also codifies the Department of Public Safety’s participation in the federal 287(g) program, which allows local and state law enforcement to work under the supervision of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, to “remove illegal immigrants,” Hill said.
The senator said her bill has an emphasis on arresting undocumented immigrants who are committing crimes such as “drug smuggling,” human trafficking, sexual assault, rape and violent crimes.
If an undocumented immigrant illegally entered Mississippi and committed a crime, Hill said her bill would add an additional penalty under the law on that person or hand that person over to ICE. If an undocumented immigrant has been convicted of a sexual or violent crime, a judge could impose up to five additional years on the offender’s sentence under the legislation.
Democratic Minority Leader Sen. Derrick Simmons, D-Greenville, asked Hill if the legislation offers any protection to local law enforcement officers who incorrectly enforce federal law.
“My concern is because we are imposing or creating a new crime for something that is arguably preempted by the federal government, does the bill provide protections for our local law enforcement in the event an error is made for them enforcing federal law?” he asked Hill.
“This is basically to conform with federal law. It just adds another charge, it doesn’t change the way that law enforcement goes about their business handling any suspect,” Hill replied. “This just adds another charge and gives them a way to, if they’ve committed a crime that’s not a violent act or felony, it provides a way to send them back to their home country.”
Brandon Riches, an immigration attorney serving Mississippi and Alabama, expressed concerns over S.B. 2114, warning that it would further complicate immigration enforcement and create the potential for costly mistakes.
Authorizing state and local authorities to enforce immigration laws without proper instruction risks inviting wrongful arrests and detainments, Riches told the Mississippi Free Press. He cited a wave of wrongful arrests and other misconduct by ICE under the Trump administration as an example of ramped-up immigration enforcement without adequate training.
“People need to recognize that adding an additional layer of enforcement is not (the answer),” he said. “If (federal) immigration authorities are not doing a very good job of this … I just can’t imagine that local law enforcement could do any better.”
Riches added that bills like S.B. 2114 have a chilling effect on immigrant communities, preventing members from seeking help in life-threatening circumstances out of fear that their status could be questioned.
“This just creates a huge rift between law enforcement and communities,” he explained, noting that similar measures have discouraged domestic violence victims from contacting local authorities. “Why would you call the police if a law like this passes and they start asking you about your paperwork before they can even investigate a crime that has occurred?”
The Senate passed the S.B. 2114 by a 35-17 vote. It now heads to the House Judiciary B Committee for consideration.
Previous attempts to expand immigration enforcement to state and local authorities have died in the Mississippi Legislature. Last year, a bill that would have permitted local bounty hunters to detain undocumented migrants failed to make it out of committee after garnering national headlines.