A new bill in Mississippi could turn bounty hunters into paid agents assisting government officials with deporting immigrants living in the country illegally. Announced on Wednesday, Jan. 22, House Bill 1484 offers bounty hunters $1,000 for each person they help remove from the state.
The Migration Policy Institute estimates at least 25,000 immigrants live in the state illegally. Mississippi’s population stands at just under 3 million.
Building on Trump’s immigration policies
De Soto County District Attorney Matthew Barton helped draft the bill as part of his effort to expand on President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
In a statement, Barton said, “He immediately recognized the emergency at our borders, rolling out executive orders to combat illegal immigration and cartels.”
President Trump also plans to send thousands of ICE agents to the southern border through an executive order to increase enforcement and tighten immigration controls.
Immigrant advocates’ opposition to the bill
Immigrant lawyers and advocates warn the bill could lead to racial profiling and intimidation of immigrant communities.
The ACLU of Mississippi criticizes the bill’s language in a statement to The Washington Post, saying, “They define an ‘illegal alien’ as someone who is not lawfully present in the United States, but don’t clarify how to determine that someone is ‘illegal.’”
What would the bill do?
House Bill 1484 defines a bounty hunter as a licensed bail agent who would become certified under the new law to detain undocumented immigrants in Mississippi. Typically, bounty hunters track down people who either skip court or fail to pay bail. They earn a percentage of the bail amount once they’re apprehended.
The bill imposes felony charges and a life sentence without parole for anyone caught trespassing in the state unless the federal government deports them within 24 hours.
It also seeks to revoke rights such as obtaining a driver’s license, voting, applying for government assistance or becoming a legal state resident.
