Lawmakers on a Senate committee advanced a bill that would allow state law enforcement to arrest people in Louisiana they suspect are here illegally.
It creates the crime of “unlawful entry or reentry by an alien.” The bill allows for penalties up to $10,000 in fines and two years in prison.
It’s similar to a controversial Texas law that passed last year. That law is already facing legal challenges for undermining the federal government’s authority on immigration law.
Tension between many Republican-led states and the federal government has built up in recent years as the country experiences a sharp influx of immigrants from the southern border.
The bill heads next to the full Senate for debate. Even if the Legislature and Gov. Jeff Landry approve the bill, its enforcement rests on the outcome of the legal battle over the Texas law.
