There is no appetite among House Republicans for a bill that would put a bounty on undocumented immigrants, Speaker Jon Patterson told reporters Thursday.
The legislation, which was debated Tuesday in a Missouri Senate committee, would award a $1,000 bounty for tips that result in the arrest of a person present in the United States without authorization. The sponsor of the bill also wants to to authorize bounty hunters to track down people identified in tips.
No one in the House has filed a similar bill, and Patterson said it stands little chance of getting any traction in the chamber even if it does clear the Senate.
“We are committed to making sure that we have legal immigration but that we don’t tolerate illegal immigration,” said Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican. “I have not heard any enthusiasm from our members about doing any sort of bounty. I don’t think that’s something that you’re going to see on this side.”
Patterson said the issue is being handled by the federal government, noting that President Donald Trump recently signed legislation that requires the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to detain certain non-U.S. nationals who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting.
It also authorizes states to sue the federal government for “decisions or alleged failures related to immigration enforcement.”
Gov. Mike Kehoe signed executive orders on his first day in office earlier this month designed to prepare Missouri to assist the federal government in immigration enforcement.
“A lot of it’s being addressed at the federal level,” Patterson said.
State Rep. Bridget Walsh Moore, a St. Louis Democrat, called the Senate bill authorizing bounty hunters “fear mongering” and “a very bold step towards fascism.”
“Any talk of rounding up and getting your papers,” she said, “especially during the same week as Holocaust Remembrance Day, is incredibly disrespectful, and honestly, should terrify anyone who calls himself a patriot.”