Racism no longer hides in the US: $1,000 for reporting undocumented immigrants

President Donald Trump is not alone in his anti-immigrant crusade. Turning undocumented people into the enemy has been the xenophobic and racist argument that has inspired two Republican state legislators to propose rewards for those who report undocumented foreigners to the authorities. The offer includes $1,000 rewards for anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest of an immigrant without legal papers.

In Mississippi, the proposal put forward by Republican Representative Justin Keen was halted by a House committee this week. In Missouri, the state Senate proposal is being debated in the House but is unlikely to advance, according to Speaker Jon Patterson, a local station reported on Monday. But the initiatives raise fears of racist acts among a population that is already polarized by the anti-immigrant crusade that the president has launched in the two weeks he has been in office. “There is no doubt that there could be unforeseen repercussions, especially regarding public safety, racial profiling and discrimination,” warns Michelle Mittelstadt, communications director of the Migration Policy Institute (MPI).

In Missouri, Republican Senator David Gregory introduced SB72 late last year and at the legislative session held by the Public Safety Committee on January 27. “If an illegal alien is arrested and imprisoned 69 under this section as a result of a report to the 70 information system, the person who made the report shall be 71 eligible to receive a reward of one thousand dollars,” the proposal states. If the tip turns out to be accurate, the arrested person would be charged with “trespass by an illegal alien” and subject to life in prison without probation, parole or release of any kind unless federal immigration authorities take custody to deport the individual.

Gregory’s proposal also includes the creation of a figure more suited to centuries past in a Wild West setting: the bounty hunter. The so-called Missouri Illegal Alien Certified Bounty Hunter Program would certify people to find and detain undocumented migrants. Gregory explained that it would function as “an ICE program at the state level,” alluding to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in charge of carrying out the detention and deportation of migrants.

The aggressiveness of the proposal sparked a heated debate in the Senate, where dozens of people testified against it. The Republican senator, who has been labeled a “fascist,” criticized the media coverage of his plan and said that bounty hunters would not go around the streets making arrests freely and would only do so if there was an arrest warrant.

State Senator Barbara Washington, a Kansas City Democrat, said that the proposal encourages people to make racist reports based on skin color or English proficiency. “Don’t tell me it’s not going to happen because it’s happening now,” Washington said, according to the Missouri Independent.

This is not the only proposal the state has against migrants. Republican Senator Jill Carter defended another bill that creates new crimes based on immigration status. Simply for being undocumented, a person could be accused of “inappropriate entry” and punished with a fine of up to $10,000 and expelled to a port of entry for later deportation. These projects are an example of how many states governed by Republicans are promoting legislation that aligns with the anti-immigrant offensive activated by Trump, encouraging local authorities to participate in the president’s deportation drive.

Failure in Mississippi

In Mississippi, the bill was similar to Missouri’s and contemplated a reward of $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of undocumented immigrants, while also creating the figure of the bounty hunter. Its author, Republican legislator Justin Keen stuck close to the argument widely spread by Trump that immigrants are criminals. “This legislation is about keeping Mississippi communities safe,” he declared. “We’ve seen firsthand the danger posed by bad actors and violent criminals who enter this country illegally, like the innocent life of Laken Riley,” he said in reference to the Georgia student who was killed by an undocumented immigrant last year and whose name heads he law that will allow deportation for minor crimes. “President Trump’s administration has made it clear that deporting illegal immigrants is a priority, and we are proud to do our part here in Mississippi to help support his agenda and protect our citizens.” The project, however, died in the House committee.

Mississippi saw some of the largest workplace raids during Trump’s first term. In August 2019, ICE agents raided chicken processing plants and arrested nearly 700 people. “The 2019 raids were emblematic of the Trump Administration’s punitive, inhumane, retaliatory and racially-motivated immigration policy,” a report from the National Migrant Justice Center said.

Popular rejection of irregular immigration has increased in parallel with the increase in undocumented arrivals. Between 2019 and 2023, the population of unauthorized migrants grew by three million, or an average of 6% per year, according to MPI data. The country had not seen such large annual increases since the early 2000s. Its estimates point to 13.7 million undocumented migrants in 2023. However, measures imposed by the Joe Biden administration last year, such as restrictions on asylum, reduced illegal border crossings to lows not seen since 2020.

It is unclear whether the bill will move forward in Missouri, but Trump’s mass deportation drive has broad popular support. A New York Times/Ipsos poll from January 2-10 found that 55 percent of voters strongly or somewhat support such plans. Sixty-three percent agree with deporting those who entered illegally in the past four years, and 88 percent support deporting immigrants who are here illegally and have criminal records.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition