Missouri may offer bounties for reporting illegal immigrants if a new law is passed.
The bill proposed to the Missouri Senate would pay residents $1000 for reporting illegal immigrants who have entered the state.
Senate Bill 72, proposed by Republican Senator-elect David Gregory, would create a web portal to allow residents to make reports to the state’s Highway Patrol.
In addition, the bill would create a “Missouri Illegal Alien Certified Bounty Hunter Program,” which would allow licensed bail-bond agents to be bounty hunters for illegal immigrants. It would also prevent illegal immigrants from receiving any public benefits, voting in elections, getting a permit or licence to drive or becoming a legal resident of the state.
A number of bills, seven in total, have now been introduced in Missouri that focus on immigration. Among other proposals, businesses would be required to ensure all citizens are documented, cities would be fined for acting as “sanctuaries” for illegals and new immigration offences, complete with fines and jail time, would be created.
Trump has promised the “largest deportation operation in American history,” targeting tens of millions of migrants who are in the country illegally.
A key figure in implementing that policy will be Tom Homan, whom Trump appointed as his “Border Czar” at the beginning of November.
Homan was considered a controversial figure for his no-nonsense approach to immigration and, in particular, for presiding over the so-called “family-separation” policy, which saw illegal immigrant families held apart and removed from the country separately.
In recent days, Homan has promised an investigation into the UN, NGOs and other organizations that have played key roles in the bringing migrants to the US.
“The Trump team is coming to town. We’re going to take control on January 20, and people are going to be held accountable,” Homan told Sean Hannity, on Fox.
Trump made two more important immigration picks on Thursday night.
On Truth Social, Trump announced the nomination of former US Border Patrol chief Rodney Scott to lead Customs and Border Protection, and he also picked long-time Immigration and Customs Enforcement veteran Caleb Vitello to serve as director of that agency.
Both men will play key roles in the new Trump administration’s immigration policies, including his flagship policy of mass deportation.