A Mississippi lawmaker’s bid to recruit local bounty hunters to detain undocumented immigrants died in the Legislature last week, joining a raft of other immigration proposals that failed to make it out of their assigned committees by the Feb. 4 deadline.
Filed Jan. 22 by Mississippi House Rep. Justin Keen, R-Byhalia, Mississippi House Bill 1484 would have awarded certified bounty hunters $1,000 for apprehending people who are in the state without authorization. Residents who shared information leading to the arrest and removal of undocumented migrants would also have earned a $1,000 reward.
The bill’s demise comes after the Mississippi Free Press reported on Jan. 22 that the measure was unlikely to gain traction in the Legislature, citing concerns from legal experts and lawmakers over its implementation and constitutionality. Some described the legislation as a political stunt designed to generate news coverage.
“It’s a complete waste of resources and money,” Larissa Davis, an immigration attorney based in Flowood, Mississippi, said on Jan. 23, adding that the bill contained so many legal pitfalls and logistical flaws that it seemed more like a ploy for attention than a good-faith attempt at legislating.Â
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Mississippi House Rep. Jansen Owen, R-Poplarville, vice chairman of the Judiciary B committee (one of two House committees that Keen’s proposal was referred to), said he viewed the bounty hunter bill as a clear case of state government overreach.
“I’m concerned about the constitutionality of some of those provisions,” he told the Mississippi Free Press on Jan. 24. “The state doesn’t need to get in the business of enforcing federal immigration law.”
Keen has not responded to a request for an interview about his proposal since the Mississippi Free Press first requested one in late January.
Though its time in the Legislature was short-lived, immigrant advocates say Keen’s bill has been a powerful intimidation tool since its filing, sowing anxiety and confusion among Mississippi’s immigrant communities and preventing residents from going about their lives.
“This bill was intended to inflict fear,” Michael Oropeza, executive
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