The bill, introduced by state Rep. Justin Keen (R), would give $1,000 in state funds to bounty hunters for every person they help get deported.
Two days after President Donald Trump took office and began his immigration crackdown, a Mississippi state representative introduced legislation to create a “bounty hunter program” to identify people who are in the country illegally.
It’s unclear if the legislation has a chance of passing, but its introduction illustrates how Trump’s hard-line immigration policies at the federal level have influenced policy proposals in states and localities - and the eagerness of some Republican state and local leaders to help the president deport massive numbers of people in the process. Advocates warn that such bills will terrorize and racially profile immigrant communities.
Mississippi is not the only state with proposed legislation to create a “bounty hunter” program. In Missouri, state Sen. David Gregory introduced legislation late last year to create a “Missouri Illegal Alien Certified Bounty Hunter Program,” which would provide a $1,000 reward to individuals for each report that leads to an arrest.
Jeremy Litton, immigration partner at the law firm Elmore Litton, described the legislation as “Orwellian.”
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