Immigration (Enforcement)

SB 2511, the Mississippi Immigration Enforcement Act of 2025, creates a special fund to support state immigration enforcement by imposing a fee on money transmitters (e.g., Western Union). The fee - $7.50 per transaction under $500 plus 1.5% on amounts over $500 - is collected from businesses and directed into the "Illegal Immigration Enforcement Fund," which funds the new Illegal Immigration Enforcement Unit within the Department of Public Safety. This unit is authorized to enforce immigration laws under federal Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, requiring county detention facilities to enter into agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by a specific deadline. The bill also prohibits contracts with carriers knowingly transporting unauthorized aliens, though it died in committee on February 4, 2025, and never became law.

HB 1440, the "Mississippi Immigration Enforcement Act of 2025," would have required money transmission businesses (like check cashers or remittance services) to collect a $7.50 fee plus 1.5% of transactions over $500 per transaction. Funds from these fees would have been deposited into a new "Illegal Immigration Enforcement Fund" to support a dedicated unit within Mississippi's Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement agencies participating in a federal immigration program. The bill also would have mandated county detention centers to sign agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by 2026 and provided tax credits to customers who filed tax returns with a Social Security number. The bill died in committee on February 4, 2025, and never became law.

HB 47 prohibits knowingly transporting unauthorized immigrants into Mississippi as a felony punishable by 1-5 years in prison and fines up to $10,000. It also criminalizes forging government documents for unauthorized immigrants with similar penalties. The bill directly affects individuals who transport undocumented people or forge documents, while amending existing laws to strengthen enforcement (e.g., increasing penalties for E-Verify violations and restricting driver's licenses for unauthorized immigrants). It also clarifies that Mississippi agencies must cooperate with federal immigration enforcement and prohibits unauthorized immigrants from serving as labor representatives. The bill died in committee on February 4, 2025, and does not specify new public benefit restrictions beyond existing provisions.

SB 2196 would criminalize illegal entry into Mississippi by non-citizens who enter outside designated ports of entry (Section 5) or remain in the state after being denied admission or removed by federal authorities (Section 6). It classifies these violations as misdemeanors (up to 180 days jail or $2,000 fine) or felonies (up to 2 years jail or $10,000 fine) depending on prior offenses. The bill includes limited affirmative defenses for those with federal asylum, lawful presence, or approved DACA status (2012-2021), but not for other federal programs. Law enforcement cannot arrest individuals at schools, places of worship, or healthcare facilities under this law (Section 2), and court orders for removal require specific documentation and federal database checks (Section 3). The bill died in committee in February 2025 and was never enacted.

SB 3145 proposed appropriating $500,000 from Mississippi's General Fund to establish an Immigration Enforcement Division within the Department of Public Safety, appoint an enforcement director, and provide incentives for local law enforcement agencies to partner with federal immigration authorities under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The bill directly affected local law enforcement agencies by offering financial incentives to participate in federal immigration enforcement programs. The bill died in committee on February 26, 2025, and was never enacted into law.

This resolution (SR 131) urges Mississippi local law enforcement agencies to enter into 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These agreements would allow trained local officers to assist ICE in identifying and removing non-citizens who are in the U.S. illegally or have criminal charges. The resolution does not create new law but calls on local agencies to partner with federal authorities on immigration enforcement under existing federal programs. It was referred to committee but died there in April 2025, meaning it did not become law.