Immigration

passed · Iowa · Senate Mar 19, 2026

SF 2412: A bill for an act relating to qualifications for state and local government employment and professional licensure.

SF 2412 requires all state and local government agencies, as well as professional licensing departments, to use the federal E-Verify system to confirm the immigration status and work eligibility of newly hired employees and license applicants. It establishes a 10-day appeal process for individuals who dispute E-Verify results, allowing them to submit documentation to challenge the findings. If an appeal is unsuccessful or not pursued, agencies must report individuals without legal U.S. status to federal immigration authorities. The bill creates a central "SAVE program clearinghouse" within the state department to manage immigration verification for professional licenses and streamline reporting to federal agencies.

Topics ✗ ImmigrationOpposes ImmigrationMandates E-Verify for state employment/licensing, requiring federal immigration status checks which restricts undocumented workers' access to jobs and licenses.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Driver Licenses & IDs Work Authorization Tags Licensing

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in committee · Iowa · Senate Feb 18, 2026

SSB 3169: A bill for an act relating to qualifications for state employment and professional licensure.

SSB 3169 requires state agencies and institutions of higher education to use federal systems (e-Verify for employment and the SAVE program for licenses) to confirm U.S. citizenship or immigration status. It directly affects new state employees and individuals applying for professional licenses (such as doctors, lawyers, or contractors). The bill creates a state SAVE program clearinghouse to process these checks, mandates licensing boards to deny applications if lawful presence cannot be verified, and allows appeals to the department director. This policy change adds a mandatory verification step for employment and professional licensing eligibility.

Topics ✗ ImmigrationOpposes ImmigrationMandates federal immigration verification (e-Verify/SOLVE) for state employment/licenses, denying applications without verified lawful presence, restricting immigrant access to professional services.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Citizenship & Naturalization Driver Licenses & IDs Work Authorization Tags Licensing

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in committee · Iowa · House Feb 16, 2026

HSB 536: A bill for an act prohibiting regents institutions from entering into employment contracts with Chinese citizens holding certain visas.

This bill prohibits Iowa's public universities (regents institutions) from entering new employment contracts on or after July 1, 2026, with individuals who are both Chinese citizens and hold a valid U.S. H-1B visa. It requires the state board of regents to adopt a policy implementing this ban. The restriction specifically targets H-1B visa holders from China for new hiring, not existing employees or other visa types. The policy applies only to state-controlled higher education institutions, not private employers.

Topics ✗ ImmigrationOpposes ImmigrationRestricts new employment of Chinese H-1B visa holders in state universities, directly limiting immigration opportunities for a specific group.90% confidence

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in committee · Iowa · House Jan 26, 2026

HF 2041: A bill for an act relating to state law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration and customs enforcement.

HF 2041 requires all Iowa law enforcement agencies and officers to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal immigration agencies when requested. The bill mandates that if a law enforcement agency holds someone subject to an ICE detainer request, it must fully comply with the instructions in that request. This directly affects Iowa police departments, sheriffs' offices, and jail staff who would need to follow federal immigration detainer procedures. The key provision is the mandatory compliance with federal immigration detainer requests, shifting responsibility for processing such requests to state law enforcement. The bill does not create new penalties but requires state agencies to act on federal immigration requests.

Topics ✗ ImmigrationOpposes ImmigrationBill mandates Iowa law enforcement to comply with ICE detainer requests, directly increasing state cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and restricting immigrant protections.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Detention Enforcement Sanctuary Policies

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passed · Iowa · House Mar 12, 2026

HF 2102: A bill for an act prohibiting the use of a language other than English for driver’s license examinations.

HF 2102 prohibits using any language other than English for driver's license examinations in Iowa. It directly affects individuals applying for or taking driver's license tests at state offices. The bill amends Iowa law to remove an existing exception, requiring the Iowa Department of Transportation or third-party examiners to conduct all written and oral tests in English. This change applies specifically to the examination process, not other official communications or documents. The bill does not alter requirements for other driver's license procedures or materials.

Topics ✗ ImmigrationOpposes ImmigrationMandates English-only driver's license exams, restricting access to a key state service for non-English speakers, directly limiting immigrant access to services.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Driver Licenses & IDs

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in committee · Iowa · Senate Jan 28, 2026

SF 2097: A bill for an act relating to state law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration and customs enforcement.

SF 2097 requires all Iowa state law enforcement agencies and officers to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal immigration agencies when requested. It specifically mandates that if law enforcement has custody of a person named in an immigration detainer request from ICE, they must fully comply with that request and any related legal documents. The bill directly affects Iowa police departments, sheriff's offices, and state troopers by changing how they handle federal immigration detainer requests. This policy change shifts responsibility to state agencies to comply with federal immigration holds rather than allowing them to independently decide whether to honor such requests.

Topics ✗ ImmigrationOpposes ImmigrationMandates state law enforcement to comply with ICE detainers, increasing cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Detention Enforcement Sanctuary Policies

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in committee · Iowa · Senate Jan 26, 2026

SSB 3071: A bill for an act relating to state law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration and customs enforcement.

This bill requires Iowa police and jail staff to cooperate with federal immigration officials upon request and to comply with formal federal holds on individuals. It directly affects all local law enforcement agencies and detention facilities in Iowa. The key provision mandates that state agencies follow immigration detainer requests from U.S. Customs and Border Protection or similar federal entities. The bill is currently under review by the Workforce Subcommittee after introduction in January 2026.

Topics ✗ ImmigrationOpposes ImmigrationMandates Iowa law enforcement to comply with federal immigration detainers, increasing state cooperation with federal enforcement, which restricts immigrant freedom and limits protections.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Detention Enforcement Sanctuary Policies

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in committee · Iowa · Senate Feb 4, 2026

SSB 3045: A bill for an act relating to the verification of United States citizenship of persons registering to vote.

SSB 3045 requires Iowa county registrars to verify a person’s U.S. citizenship using the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system before registering them to vote. If verification fails, the registrar cannot register the person, and the individual may appeal the decision to a district court for a final ruling. The bill directly affects voters registering in Iowa by adding a citizenship verification step to the registration process. It changes the registration procedure to mandate this federal check, with no alternative verification method specified.

Topics ✗ ImmigrationOpposes ImmigrationRequires citizenship verification for voter registration, restricting non-citizens from voting access via SAVE system mandate.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Citizenship & Naturalization Driver Licenses & IDs

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in committee · Iowa · Senate Feb 4, 2026

SSB 3015: A bill for an act relating to the verification of the identity and employment eligibility of individuals by the board of educational examiners, school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools, and including applicability provisions.

This bill requires Iowa school districts, charter schools, and the Board of Educational Examiners to verify that all school staff and applicants can legally work in the U.S. using federal employment verification standards (8 U.S.C. §1324a). It mandates that new hires, license applicants, and renewal candidates provide documents proving both work authorization and identity - such as a work permit or passport - while educators not subject to regular renewal must renew this verification every five years. School districts and schools must comply with these federal rules for all staff hired after the bill’s effective date, aligning their hiring practices with standard employment verification processes. The bill does not create new requirements but codifies existing federal verification protocols for educational employment.

Topics ✗ ImmigrationOpposes ImmigrationMandates federal employment verification (8 U.S.C. §1324a) for school staff, enforcing work authorization requirements as state-level immigration enforcement.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Driver Licenses & IDs Work Authorization

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in committee · Iowa · Senate Mar 5, 2025

SSB 1088: A bill for an act relating to voter registration, including voter registration file maintenance and verification of voter eligibility.

This bill establishes a centralized statewide voter registration database in Iowa, replacing county-level systems by 2007. It requires automatic cross-checks with DMV records, felony conviction databases, and death records to verify eligibility, and mandates annual verification of all registrations. Voters who self-report non-citizenship on registration forms will have their records marked "unconfirmed," and officials must cancel registrations for ineligible voters identified through these checks. The system affects all registered Iowa voters and election officials, standardizing how registration data is maintained, verified, and updated.

Topics ✗ ImmigrationOpposes ImmigrationBill mandates verification of citizenship for voter registration, marking non-citizens as ineligible and requiring cancellation of their registrations, directly restricting immigrant voting access.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Citizenship & Naturalization Driver Licenses & IDs

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