A new Mississippi law will empower the state's principal law enforcement agency to create a list of immigrants residing in the state without legal authorization. The law, set to take effect Wednesday, has raised alarm among immigrant advocates who express concern it could be used as a tool against immigrants, potentially in conjunction with federal efforts to deport millions of individuals lacking legal status.
The measure mandates that the state Department of Public Safety "may use all reasonable lawful investigative means available" to determine the number and identities of all "illegal aliens" within Mississippi. This includes gathering their names, addresses, countries of origin, and whether they are adults or minors. It also requires noting any criminal history and details regarding deportation proceedings.
Information gathered on individuals suspected of violating laws is to be shared with state and local authorities. The law does not explicitly require or prohibit the sharing of this database with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Republican state Sen. Angela Hill, the bill's sponsor, stated that states have a right and responsibility to aid the federal government in discouraging illegal immigration, which she contends facilitates crimes such as human and drug trafficking. "In order to address the problems caused by illegal immigration, we need to understand the magnitude of the problem," Hill said. "Identifying the number and identity of illegal aliens in Mississippi is a concrete way to better understand the problem."
Nationwide, states have enacted over 100 immigration-related laws this year. Republican-led states have generally aligned with President Donald Trump's agenda, implementing measures such as requiring local sheriffs to cooperate with ICE, restricting eligibility for public benefits, and directing election officials to verify voter rolls against federal systems to flag noncitizens.
Conversely, Democratic-led states have often pushed back against such policies, enacting laws that ban cooperation pacts with ICE and restrict immigration enforcement in sensitive locations without judicial warrants.
A 2021 executive order by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, which directed the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to identify unauthorized immigrants transported from the southwest border to Florida, is considered the closest precedent to Mississippi's new law. The Florida agency did not provide information on the results of that executive order.
The Mississippi law is designed to be an ongoing effort to track immigrants in the state without legal status for two years, rather than a one-time count. This continuous tracking may present challenges as individuals' immigration statuses can change, and people move in and out of the state.
Efrén Olivares, vice president of litigation and legal strategy at the National Immigration Law Center, noted that an individual's immigration status can fluctuate, making such a database potentially unworkable. He also expressed concern that "it's eerily reminiscent of other countries that have created lists of certain groups of people."
Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, suggested that state officials would need a "credible and fairly foolproof way of correctly determining someone's immigration status." However, she also stated the law "makes a lot of sense" and "raises the likelihood that someone’s illegal presence is going to come to the attention of federal authorities."
According to a report by the American Immigration Council using 2023 Census Bureau data, Mississippi has one of the lowest percentages of immigrants residing in the state without authorization, estimated at fewer than 28,000 people, or less than 1% of its population.
Victoria Francis, deputy director of state and local initiatives for the American Immigration Council, called the new law "very concerning" for several reasons, including the potential diversion of law enforcement resources from public protection to investigating immigrants who contribute to the economy. "A mandate like this invites profiling and turning entire communities into targets," Francis said.
Lydia Grizzell, policy and advocacy manager for the ACLU of Mississippi, warned that the law could erode trust between law enforcement and residents, potentially discouraging individuals from reporting crimes or seeking assistance. "That increases the likelihood of individuals not reaching out to law enforcement when it’s needed – and that is opposite of the mission," she stated.