Mississippi immigration law to compile registry of illegal immigrants

A new Mississippi law that goes into effect this week will allow the state’s top law enforcement agency to compile a list of all illegal immigrants living in the state, alarming immigrant advocates who fear it could be a new tool to target immigrants as part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan.

The law, which goes into effect Wednesday, states that the state Department of Public Safety “may use all reasonable lawful investigative means available” to determine the number and identity of illegal immigrants residing in Mississippi, including collecting their names, addresses, countries of origin, and whether they are adults or children.

The department may also list any criminal history and the date, location, and status of any deportation proceedings.

The agency was instructed to share information about immigrants suspected of violating the law with state and local authorities.

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The law does not expressly require or prohibit sharing of the database with federal immigration authorities; however, other provisions of SB 2114 require the Department of Public Safety and county detention agencies to attempt cooperative agreements with ICE under Section 287(g).

Republican State Sen. Angela Hill, who sponsored the bill, argued that states have the right and obligation to help the federal government stop illegal immigration, which she argues contributes to crimes such as human and drug trafficking.

Hill said the new measure “seems common sense to me.”

“To find solutions to the problems caused by illegal immigration, we need to understand the magnitude of the problem. Determining the number and identity of illegal aliens in Mississippi is a concrete way to better understand the problem,” he said.

Mississippi law allows for an ongoing effort to illegally track immigrants in the state for the next two years; This may also include people whose visas have expired.

Immigrant advocates warn that the law could complicate matters in Mississippi as people overstay their visas, apply for new forms of legal status and move in and out of the state.

“You can be undocumented today, have status tomorrow, and lose it again next month, and regain it three months from now,” Efrén Olivares, vice president of litigation and legal strategy for the National Immigration Law Center, a nonprofit that advocates for low-income immigrants, told The Associated Press.

“It’s practically useless, but it’s also very worrying because it’s eerily reminiscent of other countries that have created lists of certain groups of people,” Olivares said. he added.

The law does not require or restrict sharing of the database with federal immigration authorities. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, a nonprofit think tank that supports immigration restrictions, said state officials need to find “a reliable and fairly foolproof way to accurately determine someone’s immigration status.”

But Vaughan defended the law as “very sensible” and said it “increases the likelihood that someone’s illegal presence will come to the attention of federal authorities.”

According to 2023 Census Bureau data from the American Immigration Council, Mississippi has one of the nation’s smallest percentages of illegal immigrants, at fewer than 28,000 people; This accounts for less than 1% of its population.

Victoria Francis, deputy director of state and local initiatives for the American Immigration Council, a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of immigrants, warned that the law had the potential to divert law enforcement resources away from protecting the public in favor of investigating immigrants who could contribute to the economy.

“A mandate like this invites profiling and turning entire communities into targets,” Francis told The Associated Press.

Lydia Grizzell, policy and advocacy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, added that the law could harm trust between police and residents.

“This increases the likelihood that individuals will not reach out to law enforcement when needed, and that is the exact opposite of the mission,” he said.

More than 100 immigration-related laws have been passed in states across the country this year.

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Immigrant advocates fear the Mississippi law could be a new tool to target immigrants as part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Republican-led states have sought to bolster Trump’s immigration crackdown by requiring local sheriffs to sign cooperative agreements with ICE, strengthening eligibility restrictions for public benefits and instructing election clerks to check voter rolls against the federal Systematic Alien Verification system for Warrants to identify noncitizens.

Mississippi’s new law is similar to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2021 executive order directing the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to “use all available lawful investigative tools” to determine the number and identities of all “illegal aliens” transported to Florida from the nation’s southwestern border during the border crisis under the Biden administration.

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Blue states, meanwhile, have sought to limit Trump’s immigration raids, including banning cooperative agreements with ICE, banning ICE from wearing masks to protect their identities, and banning the detention of immigrants without judicial warrant in schools, hospitals and other sensitive locations.

At the federal level, the Trump administration has stepped up enforcement of the decades-old law requiring noncitizens to register with the U.S. government.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.