The U.S. Capitol pictured on Nov. 26, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)
Members of Iowa’s congressional delegation have spent the first week with President Donald Trump back in office taking actions on immigration and agriculture.
All four of Iowa’s representatives — all Republican — voted Wednesday to pass the Laken Riley Act, sending it to Trump’s desk for final approval. The legislation is the first bill that Trump can sign into law during his new term and marks an early victory for the president, who promised to enact harsher immigration laws if elected.
The legislation is named after a 22-year-old University of Georgia student who was murdered by a man who immigration authorities said entered the country illegally and who had previously been charged with shoplifting. It would require unauthorized immigrants charged or arrested for property and violent crimes be detained while awaiting trial. The bill passed the House Wednesday in a 263-156 vote, with 46 Democrats supporting the measure.
U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra highlighted the inclusion of “Sarah’s Law” in the bill while celebrating its passage. The Senate amended the bill to include a provision requiring undocumented immigrants who commit crimes resulting in death or serious bodily injury be detained. It’s a provision that Iowa lawmakers said could have been crucial in the case of Sarah Root, a 21-year-old Council Bluffs woman who was killed by a drunk driver who was an undocumented immigrant. The driver fled after being released on bail and was never found.
Feenstra, who alongside U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst has introduced multiple versions of “Sarah’s Law,” said he was “thrilled” to see its inclusion in the Laken Riley Act.
“Sarah’s Law not only delivers justice for the Root family but also ensures that any illegal immigrant who harms or kills an American citizen is swiftly detained and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Feenstra said in a statement. “With President Trump in the White House, we will continue to secure our border, build the wall, and combat heinous crimes committed by illegal immigrants.”
Immigrant advocates and attorneys have said the measure could have impacts not just on undocumented people accused of crimes, but could lead to the detainment of children, interfere with the issuance of visas and harm immigrants with legal status to be in the country.
Rep. Ashley Hinson said the measure was an important step to protecting Americans’ safety.
“No illegal immigrant who commits a crime or harms an American should have the chance to commit another crime in America – let alone reside in our country,” Hinson said in a statement. “While it’s despicable 156 Democrats voted to put criminal illegal immigrants first, I am so thankful we have a president who will always put Americans first. Let’s get this bill to President Trump’s desk – for Laken, Sarah, and every family who has suffered at the hands of an illegal immigrant.”
Biofuel bill
Ernst and Sen. Chuck Grassley were among ag-state senators to cosponsor a bill that would clarify program eligibility and definitions for sustainable aviation fuel within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
S.144 is a reintroduction of the Farm to Fly Act that has been introduced in Congress the past couple of years.
The bill would add sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, to sections of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 relating to biofuels. According to a press release from Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, who sponsored the bill, the additional language would allow greater collaboration between aviation biofuels and USDA agencies.
Grassley said in a statement the bill would help farmers, American energy production and drive economic growth.
“Homegrown biofuels are good for Americans’ pocketbooks, the environment and national security,” Grassley said.
Stu Swanson, president of Iowa Corn Growers Association, said the bill meets an Iowa Corn priority of expanding markets for corn growers, who would be able to sell corn as a feedstock for the aviation biofuels.
“This bill not only promotes the use of SAF, a cleaner, home-grown fuel that reduces carbon emissions, but it also promotes domestic energy production and increases partnerships within the aviation biofuels space,” Swanson said in a statement.
Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw said sustainable aviation fuels are the “largest potential new market” for agriculture.
“The only way SAF takes off is with the ample agricultural feedstocks available in the U.S. and certainty surrounding feedstock qualifications,” Shaw said in a statement. “This legislation will help ensure that U.S. farmers and their products are treated fairly and have access to the SAF market.”
The biofuels industry and Iowa politicians have been seeking final guidance on a tax credit, 45z, for sustainable aviation fuel, which Ernst pressed President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Agriculture nominee Brooke Rollins during her confirmation hearing Thursday.
Trump also issued an executive order this week ordering the Environmental Protection Agency to consider emergency waivers for the year-round sale of E15, an ethanol blended fuel.
Ernst praised the action and said “President Trump is already fighting for our Iowa farmers and biofuel producers.”