Senate advances immigration enforcement bill
Key Points:
- – Senate passed SB 2114 on a 35–17 vote.
- – Bill creates new state criminal offenses for unlawful entry.
- – Judges may order individuals returned to their country of origin under defined conditions.
JACKSON — The Mississippi Senate on Tuesday approved Senate Bill 2114, a far‑reaching immigration‑enforcement measure that would create new state criminal offenses for unlawful entry and authorize judges to order individuals returned to their country of origin. The bill passed 35–17 and now moves to the House of Representatives.
The three DeSoto County senators split their votes. Sen. Michael McLendon (R‑Hernando) and Sen. Kevin Blackwell (R‑Southaven) supported the bill, while Sen. Theresa Gillespie-Isom (D‑Olive Branch) voted against it.
SB 2114 establishes misdemeanor and felony penalties for “a person who is an alien” who enters Mississippi outside a lawful port of entry. The bill states that “a person who is an alien commits an offense if the person enters or attempts to enter this state directly from a foreign nation at any location other than a lawful port of entry.”
The legislation also allows judges to dismiss charges and issue written orders requiring individuals to return to their home country if certain conditions are met. Such orders must specify transportation to a port of entry and designate the agency responsible for monitoring compliance. According to the bill, an order “must discharge the person and require the person to return to the foreign nation from which the person entered or attempted to enter.”
Local and state officials enforcing the act would receive broad immunity and indemnification protections unless they act in bad faith or with reckless disregard. The bill further bars expunction, parole, early release, or nonadjudication for anyone charged under its provisions.
