A Missouri lawmaker is responding to criticism of legislation that would offer state residents $1,000 rewards for turning in illegal immigrants.
And he’s not backing down.
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State Senator-elect David Gregory (R) pre-filed Senate Bill 72, proposing a bounty hunter program where Americans could earn a substantial award for reporting illegal aliens to authorities.
The bill has received pushback and criticism from those who find the program to be onerous and dangerous.
Gregory responded to the heavy criticism by touting the benefits of the bill in a video posted to X Friday afternoon.
“Senate Bill 72 will finally empower our police and our communities to protect themselves,” Gregory explains. “This bill will make it a felony to be here in this state illegally. This bill will finally allow our police officers to arrest illegal immigrants.”
“And it’ll allow our Department of Public Safety to investigate, to determine if someone’s illegal, and dispatch bounty hunters to effect those arrests,” he says.
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That’s when Gregory delved into the most controversial aspect of the bill.
He added that “[m]uch like Crime Stoppers and other federal hotlines, if you submit an anonymous tip that leads to the arrest of an illegal immigrant, you’ll be rewarded $1,000.”
The Missouri lawmaker then addressed President Trump directly, telling him: “Missouri will have dangerous illegal immigrants gift-wrapped and ready for deportation.”
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The bill aims to restrict illegals from voting, driving, receiving public benefits, or becoming legal residents of Missouri.
Gregory promises further updates posted to X, which will be crucial to answering lingering questions, such as how somebody reporting anonymously would be able to collect a reward.
And how the bill might avoid certain pitfalls similar to anonymous tips submitted to CPS, where neighbors sometimes report on neighbors simply because they dislike each other.
Democrat state Senator Brian Williams argued that the proposal would lead to discrimination, according to Fox 2.
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“Right now, it sounds like the public is going to not only get finger-pointing but potentially be subject to various situations of discrimination,” Williams said. “Missourians expect us to find solutions and not point fingers and not point people out of a public lineup.”
Javad Khazalei, an immigration and civil rights attorney, was much more assertive with his pushback.
“This is a classic demanding papers situation – you must have your papers everywhere,” he told KCTV. “This is Nazi Germany stuff.”
Gregory, though, contends that his bill would protect citizens and legal immigrants alike.
“Let’s do this right to protect our people because immigration is good,” he said. “Illegal immigration is bad.”
Republicans currently have control of the Missouri Senate by a wide margin, 23-7. They have a more than 2-1 advantage in the House. Still, it remains to be seen if Gregory can garner enough support to push through this bill.