Two of Iowa’s top Republicans say they would support a state law similar to Arizona’s allowing police authorities to check the immigration status of people they stop, even as immigrants rallied at the state Capitol Monday urging rejection of the idea.
“You know, if I get stopped, they’re going to ask for my driver’s license,” Republican Gov. Terry Branstad said Monday, according to the
Des Moines Register. “I don’t think it’s inappropriate to ask somebody for identification of who they are, whether it’s a driver’s license or whether it’s other legal papers.”
Likewise, Iowa U.S. Rep. Steve King — a leading national voice of more restrictive immigration policies — said he hopes Iowa will pass a status check law as well in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling upholding that provision of the Arizona immigration statute.
“I think that Iowa could, and likely should, pass the provision [of the Arizona law] that stands,” King said in an interview with the Register. “I’m pleased that the most important component was, at least for now, upheld by the Supreme Court.”
The comments from the two Republicans came as immigrant advocates rallied at the Iowa Capitol urging lawmakers to reject attempts to pass similar legislation, the Register reported.
“I think we need to send a message to the Iowa legislature that we don’t want any kind of law in Iowa like this,” said Sandra Sanchez of the American Friends Service Committee in Des Moines. “I think that Iowans have more common sense and Iowans are fair people in their hearts.”
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