Illegal immigration; strengthen enforcement to prevent.

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To: Judiciary A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Currie

HOUSE BILL NO. 1040

AN ACT TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI SUPPORT OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT 1
AND SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS ACT; TO SET FORTH LEGISLATIVE INTENT AND 2
SHORT TITLE; TO REQUIRE COOPERATION AND ASSISTANCE IN ENFORCEMENT 3
OF IMMIGRATION LAWS AND TO INDEMNIFY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS FOR 4
IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS ACT; TO PROHIBIT ILLEGAL ALIENS FROM 5
ENTERING INTO BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS WITH THE STATE; TO AMEND 6
SECTION 99-3-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM THE ARREST 7
WITHOUT WARRANT STATUTE; TO AMEND SECTION 71-11-3, MISSISSIPPI 8
CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR RETENTION OF E-VERIFY CONFIRMATIONS 9
FOR AT LEAST THREE YEARS; TO CREATE THE SPECIAL FUND TO BE KNOWN 10
AS THE IMMIGRATION REIMBURSEMENT FUND; TO AUTHORIZE ALL 11
MISSISSIPPI LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS TO ASSIST FEDERAL AGENCIES IN 12
ENFORCEMENT OF IMMIGRATION LAW; TO REQUIRE THE BOARD OF PUBLIC 13
CONTRACTORS TO REVIEW CONTRACTOR COMPLIANCE WITH E-VERIFY 14
REQUIREMENTS; TO PROVIDE FOR THE DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION 15
REGARDING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES; TO PROVIDE FOR SEVERABILITY, 16
IMPLEMENTATION AND CONSTRUCTION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 17
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 18
SECTION 1. Legislative intent and short title. (1) The 19
Legislature finds that there is a compelling interest in the 20
cooperative enforcement of federal immigration laws throughout all 21
of Mississippi. The Legislature declares that the intent of this 22
act is to make attrition through enforcement of the public policy 23
of all state agencies and local governments in Mississippi. The 24
provisions of this act are intended to work together to discourage 25
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and deter the unlawful entry and presence of aliens and economic 26
activity by persons unlawfully present in the United States. 27
(2) This act may be cited as the "Support Our Law 28
Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act." 29
SECTION 2. Cooperation and assistance in enforcement of 30
immigration laws. (1) No official or agency of this state or a 31
political subdivision of this state shall limit or restrict the 32
enforcement of federal immigration laws. 33
(2) For any lawful arrest made by a law enforcement official 34
or a law enforcement agency of this state or a law enforcement 35
official or a law enforcement agency of a political subdivision of 36
this state in the enforcement of any other law or ordinance of a 37
county, municipality or the state where reasonable suspicion 38
exists that the person is an alien and is unlawfully present in 39
the United States, a reasonable attempt shall be made to determine 40
the immigration status of the person, except if the determination 41
may hinder or obstruct an investigation. The immigration status 42
of any person who is arrested shall be determined before the 43
person is released by verification with the federal government 44
pursuant to 8 USCS Section 1373(c). A law enforcement official or 45
agency of this state or political subdivision of this state shall 46
not consider race, color or national origin in implementing the 47
requirements of this subsection except to the extent permitted by 48
the United States or Mississippi Constitution. A person is 49
presumed to not be an alien who is unlawfully present in the 50
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United States if the person provides to the law enforcement 51
officer or agency any of the following: 52
(a) A valid Mississippi driver's license. 53
(b) A valid Mississippi identification card issued 54
under Title 45, Chapter 35, Mississippi Code of 1972. 55
(c) A valid tribal enrollment card or other form of 56
tribal identification. 57
(d) If the entity requires proof of legal presence in 58
the United States before issuance, any valid United States 59
federal, state or local government issued identification or 60
driver's license. 61
(e) Proof that the person is an international business 62
executive of an international corporation authorized to transact 63
business in the state. 64
(3) If an alien who is unlawfully present in the United 65
States is convicted of a violation of state or local law, on 66
discharge from imprisonment or on the assessment of any monetary 67
obligation that is imposed, the United States Immigration and 68
Customs Enforcement or the United States Customs and Border 69
Protection shall be notified immediately. 70
(4) Notwithstanding any other law, a law enforcement agency 71
may securely transport to a federal facility in this state or to 72
any other point of transfer into federal custody that is outside 73
the jurisdiction of the law enforcement agency an alien for whom 74
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the agency has received verification that the alien is unlawfully 75
present in the United States and is in the agency's custody. 76
(5) In the implementation of this section, an alien's 77
immigration status may be determined by: 78
(a) A law enforcement officer who is authorized by the 79
federal government to verify or ascertain an alien's immigration 80
status. 81
(b) The United States Immigration and Customs 82
Enforcement or the United States Customs and Border Protection 83
pursuant to 8 USCS Section 1373(c). 84
(6) Except as provided in federal law, officials or agencies 85
of this state and political subdivisions of this state may not be 86
prohibited or in any way be restricted from sending, receiving or 87
maintaining information relating to the immigration status, lawful 88
or unlawful, of any individual or exchanging that information with 89
any other federal, state or local governmental entity for the 90
following official purposes: 91
(a) Determining eligibility for any public benefit, 92
public assistance, service or license provided by any federal, 93
state, local or other political subdivision of this state. 94
(b) Verifying any claim of residence or domicile if 95
determination of residence or domicile is required under the laws 96
of this state or a judicial order issued pursuant to a civil or 97
criminal proceeding in this state. 98
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(c) If the person is an alien, determining whether the 99
person is in compliance with the federal registration laws 100
prescribed by Title II, Chapter 7 of the federal Immigration and 101
Nationality Act. 102
(d) Pursuant to 8 USCS Section 1373 and 8 USCS Section 103
1644. 104
(7) This section does not implement, authorize or establish 105
and shall not be construed to implement, authorize or establish 106
any portion of the REAL ID Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-13, 107
Division B; 119 Stat. 302) that is not implemented by the 108
Mississippi Department of Public Safety, including the use of a 109
radio frequency identification chip. 110
(8) A person who is a legal resident of this state may bring 111
an action in circuit court to challenge any agency of this state 112
or a political subdivision of this state that affirmatively adopts 113
or implements a written policy, or ordinance duly spread upon its 114
minutes that limits or restricts the enforcement of federal 115
immigration laws, including, but not limited to, 8 USCS Sections 116
1373 and 1644, to less than the full extent permitted by federal 117
law. If there is a judicial finding that an entity has violated 118
this section, the court shall order that the entity pay a civil 119
penalty of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) and not 120
more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) for each day that the 121
policy has remained in effect after the filing of an action 122
pursuant to this subsection. 123
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(9) A court shall collect the civil penalty prescribed in 124
subsection (8) of this section and remit the civil penalty to the 125
State Treasurer for deposit in the Immigration Reimbursement Fund 126
established by Section 7 of House Bill No. 488, 2012 Regular 127
Session. 128
(10) The court may award court costs and reasonable 129
attorney's fees to any person or any official or agency of this 130
state or a political subdivision of this state that prevails by an 131
adjudication on the merits in a proceeding brought pursuant to 132
this section. 133
(11) A law enforcement officer shall not be liable in any 134
civil action for an arrest based on probable cause and in good 135
faith pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, or failure, in 136
good faith, to make an arrest pursuant to subsection (2) of this 137
section. A law enforcement officer is indemnified by the law 138
enforcement officer's agency against reasonable costs and 139
expenses, including attorney's fees, incurred by the officer in 140
connection with any action, suit or proceeding brought pursuant to 141
this section in which the officer may be a defendant by reason of 142
the officer being or having been a member of the law enforcement 143
agency. 144
(12) This section shall be implemented in a manner 145
consistent with federal laws regulating immigration, protecting 146
the civil rights of all persons, and respecting the privileges and 147
immunities of United States citizens. 148
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SECTION 3. (1) For the purposes of this section, "business 149
transaction" includes any transaction between a person and the 150
state, including, but not limited to, applying for or renewing a 151
motor vehicle license plate, applying for or renewing a driver's 152
license or nondriver identification card, applying for or renewing 153
a business license, or applying for any license issued by the 154
state grants, loans or credits. "Business transaction" does not 155
include applying for a marriage license nor does it include any 156
business transaction entered into prior to the effective date of 157
this act or any transaction conducted by any business executive of 158
an international corporation authorized to transact business in 159
the state. 160
(2) An alien not lawfully present in the United States shall 161
not enter into or attempt to enter into a business transaction 162
with the state or a political subdivision of the state and no 163
person shall enter into a business transaction or attempt to enter 164
into a business transaction on behalf of an alien not lawfully 165
present in the United States. 166
(3) Any person entering into a business transaction or 167
attempting to enter into a business transaction with this state or 168
a political subdivision of this state shall be required to 169
demonstrate his or her United States citizenship, or if he or she 170
is an alien, his or her lawful presence in the United States to 171
the person conducting the business transaction on behalf of this 172
state or a political subdivision of this state. United States 173
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citizenship shall be demonstrated by presentation of proper 174
documentation as required by law. An alien's lawful presence in 175
the United States shall be demonstrated by this state's or a 176
political subdivision of this state's verification of the alien's 177
lawful presence through the Systematic Alien Verification for 178
Entitlements program operated by the Department of Homeland 179
Security, or by other verification with the Department of Homeland 180
Security pursuant to 8 USCS, Section 1373(c). 181
(4) A violation of this section is a felony punishable by a 182
fine of not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or 183
imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for 184
not more than five (5) years, or both. 185
(5) An agency of this state or a county, city, town, or 186
other political subdivision of this state may not consider race, 187
color, or national origin in the enforcement of this section 188
except to the extent permitted by the United States Constitution 189
or the Mississippi Constitution of 1890. 190
(6) In the enforcement of this section, an alien's 191
immigration status shall be determined by verification of the 192
alien's immigration status with the federal government pursuant to 193
8 USCS, Section 1373(c). An official of this state or political 194
subdivision of this state shall not attempt to independently make 195
a final determination of whether an alien is lawfully present in 196
the United States. 197
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SECTION 4. Section 99-3-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 198
amended as follows: 199
99-3-7. (1) An officer or private person may arrest any 200
person without warrant, for an indictable offense committed, or a 201
breach of the peace threatened or attempted in his presence; or 202
when a person has committed a felony, though not in his presence; 203
or when a felony has been committed, and he has reasonable ground 204
to suspect and believe the person proposed to be arrested to have 205
committed it; or on a charge, made upon reasonable cause, of the 206
commission of a felony by the party proposed to be arrested. And 207
in all cases of arrests without warrant, the person making such 208
arrest must inform the accused of the object and cause of the 209
arrest, except when he is in the actual commission of the offense, 210
or is arrested on pursuit. 211
(2) Any law enforcement officer may arrest any person on a 212
misdemeanor charge without having a warrant in his possession when 213
a warrant is in fact outstanding for that person's arrest and the 214
officer has knowledge through official channels that the warrant 215
is outstanding for that person's arrest. In all such cases, the 216
officer making the arrest must inform such person at the time of 217
the arrest the object and cause therefor. If the person arrested 218
so requests, the warrant shall be shown to him as soon as 219
practicable. 220
(3) (a) Any law enforcement officer shall arrest a person 221
with or without a warrant when he has probable cause to believe 222
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that the person has, within twenty-four (24) hours of such arrest, 223
knowingly committed a misdemeanor or felony that is an act of 224
domestic violence or knowingly violated provisions of a criminal 225
domestic violence or sexual assault protection order issued 226
pursuant to Section 97-3-7(11), 97-3-65(6) or 97-3-101(5) or an ex 227
parte protective order, protective order after hearing or 228
court-approved consent agreement entered by a chancery, circuit, 229
county, justice or municipal court pursuant to the Protection from 230
Domestic Abuse Law, Sections 93-21-1 through 93-21-29, Mississippi 231
Code of 1972, or a restraining order entered by a foreign court of 232
competent jurisdiction to protect an applicant from domestic 233
violence. 234
(b) If a law enforcement officer has probable cause to 235
believe that two (2) or more persons committed an act of domestic 236
violence as defined herein, or if two (2) or more persons make 237
complaints of domestic violence to the officer, the officer shall 238
attempt to determine who was the principal aggressor. The term 239
principal aggressor is defined as the party who poses the most 240
serious ongoing threat, or who is the most significant, rather 241
than the first, aggressor. The officer shall presume that arrest 242
is not the appropriate response for the person or persons who were 243
not the principal aggressor. If the officer affirmatively finds 244
more than one (1) principal aggressor was involved, the officer 245
shall document those findings. 246
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(c) To determine which party was the principal 247
aggressor, the officer shall consider the following factors, 248
although such consideration is not limited to these factors: 249
(i) Evidence from the persons involved in the 250
domestic abuse; 251
(ii) The history of domestic abuse between the 252
parties, the likelihood of future injury to each person, and the 253
intent of the law to protect victims of domestic violence from 254
continuing abuse; 255
(iii) Whether one (1) of the persons acted in 256
self-defense; and 257
(iv) Evidence from witnesses of the domestic 258
violence. 259
(d) A law enforcement officer shall not base the 260
decision of whether to arrest on the consent or request of the 261
victim. 262
(e) A law enforcement officer's determination regarding 263
the existence of probable cause or the lack of probable cause 264
shall not adversely affect the right of any party to independently 265
seek appropriate remedies. 266
(4) (a) Any person authorized by a court of law to 267
supervise or monitor a convicted offender who is under an 268
intensive supervision program may arrest the offender when the 269
offender is in violation of the terms or conditions of the 270
intensive supervision program, without having a warrant, provided 271
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that the person making the arrest has been trained at the Law 272
Enforcement Officers Training Academy established under Section 273
45-5-1 et seq., or at a course approved by the Board on Law 274
Enforcement Officer Standards and Training. 275
(b) For the purposes of this subsection, the term 276
"intensive supervision program" means an intensive supervision 277
program of the Department of Corrections as described in Section 278
47-5-1001 et seq., or any similar program authorized by a court 279
for offenders who are not under jurisdiction of the Department of 280
Corrections. 281
(5) As used in subsection (3) of this section, the phrase 282
"misdemeanor or felony that is an act of domestic violence" shall 283
mean one or more of the following acts between current or former 284
spouses or a child of current or former spouses, persons living as 285
spouses or who formerly lived as spouses or a child of persons 286
living as spouses or who formerly lived as spouses, a parent, 287
grandparent, child, grandchild or someone similarly situated to 288
the defendant, persons who have a current or former dating 289
relationship, or persons who have a biological or legally adopted 290
child together: 291
(a) Simple or aggravated domestic violence within the 292
meaning of Section 97-3-7; 293
(b) Disturbing the family or public peace within the 294
meaning of Section 97-35-9, 97-35-11, 97-35-13 or 97-35-15; or 295
(c) Stalking within the meaning of Section 97-3-107. 296
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(6) Any arrest made pursuant to subsection (3) of this 297
section shall be designated as domestic assault or domestic 298
violence on both the arrest docket and the incident report. Any 299
officer investigating a complaint of a misdemeanor or felony that 300
is a crime of domestic violence who finds probable cause that such 301
an offense has occurred within the past twenty-four (24) hours 302
shall file an affidavit on behalf of the victim(s) of the crime, 303
regardless of whether an arrest is made within that time period. 304
If the crime is reported or investigated outside of that 305
twenty-four-hour period, the officer may file the affidavit on 306
behalf of the victim. In the event the officer does not file an 307
affidavit on behalf of the victim, the officer shall instruct the 308
victim of the procedure for filing on his or her own behalf. 309
(7) A law enforcement officer shall not be held liable in 310
any civil action for an arrest based on probable cause and in good 311
faith pursuant to subsection (3) of this section, or failure, in 312
good faith, to make an arrest pursuant to subsection (3) of this 313
section. 314
(8) A law enforcement officer who makes an arrest without a 315
warrant under the authority of this section shall verify the 316
immigration status of the person arrested as provided in Section 2 317
of this act. 318
( * * *9) The authority for the State Chief Deputy Fire 319
Marshal and deputy state fire marshals to make arrests shall be 320
governed by the provisions of Section 45-11-1. 321
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SECTION 5. Section 71-11-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 322
amended as follows: 323
71-11-3. (1) This chapter shall be known as the 324
"Mississippi Employment Protection Act." 325
(2) The provisions of this section shall be enforced without 326
regard to race, gender, religion, ethnicity or national origin. 327
(3) For the purpose of this section only, the following 328
words shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the content 329
clearly states otherwise: 330
(a) "Employer" is any person or business that is 331
required by federal or state law to issue a United States Internal 332
Revenue Service Form W-2 or Form 1099 to report income paid to 333
employed or contracted personnel in Mississippi. 334
(b) "Employee" is any person or entity that is hired to 335
perform work within the State of Mississippi and to whom a United 336
States Internal Revenue Service Form W-2 or Form 1099 must be 337
issued. 338
(c) "Legal alien" means an individual who was lawfully 339
present in the United States at the time of employment and for the 340
duration of employment, or who was permanently residing in the 341
United States under color of law at the time of employment and for 342
the duration of employment. 343
( * * *d) "Third-party employer" is any person or 344
company that provides workers for another person or company. This 345
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includes, but is not limited to, leasing companies and contract 346
employers. 347
( * * *e) "Status verification system" means the 348
electronic verification of work authorization program of the 349
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 350
1996, Public Law 104-208, Division C, Section 403(a); 8 USC, 351
Section 1324a, and operated by the United States Department of 352
Homeland Security, known as the E-Verify Program. 353
( * * *f) "Unauthorized alien" means an alien as 354
defined in Section 1324a(h)(3) of Title 8 of the United States 355
Code. The term shall not include business executives of 356
international corporations authorized to transact business in the 357
state. 358
( * * *g) "Public employer" means every department, 359
agency or instrumentality of the state or a political subdivision 360
of the state. 361
( * * *h) "Subcontractor" means a subcontractor, 362
contract employee, staffing agency or any contractor regardless of 363
its tier. 364
(4) (a) Employers in the State of Mississippi shall only 365
hire employees who are legal citizens of the United States of 366
America or are legal aliens. For purposes of this section, a 367
legal alien is an individual who was lawfully present in the 368
United States at the time of employment and for the duration of 369
employment, or was permanently residing in the United States under 370
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color of law at the time of employment and for the duration of 371
employment. 372
(b) (i) Every employer shall register with and utilize 373
the status verification system to verify the federal employment 374
authorization status of all newly hired employees. 375
(ii) No contractor or subcontractor shall hire any 376
employee unless the contractor or subcontractor registers and 377
participates in the status verification system to verify the work 378
eligibility status of all newly hired employees. 379
(iii) No contractor or subcontractor who enters 380
into a contract with a public employer shall enter into such a 381
contract or subcontract unless the contractor or subcontractor 382
registers and participates in the status verification system to 383
verify information of all newly hired employees. 384
(c) The provision of this section shall not apply to 385
any contracts entered into on or before July 1, 2008. 386
(d) It shall be a discriminatory practice for an 387
employer to discharge an employee working in Mississippi who is a 388
United States citizen or permanent resident alien while retaining 389
an employee who the employing entity knows, or reasonably should 390
have known, is an unauthorized alien hired after July 1, 2008, and 391
who is working in Mississippi in a job category that requires 392
equal skill, effort and responsibility, and which is performed 393
under similar working conditions, as defined by 29 USC, Section 394
206(d)(1), as the job category held by the discharged employee. 395
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(e) An employing entity which, on the date of the 396
discharge in question, was enrolled in and used the status 397
verification system to verify the employment eligibility of its 398
employees in Mississippi hired after July 1, 2008, shall be exempt 399
from liability, investigation or suit arising from any action 400
under this section. 401
(f) No cause of action for a violation of this section 402
shall lie under any other Mississippi law but shall arise solely 403
from the provisions of this section. 404
(5) Any employer that complies with the requirements of this 405
section shall be held harmless by the Mississippi Department of 406
Employment Security, provided the employer is not directly 407
involved in the creation of any false documents, and provided that 408
the employer did not knowingly and willfully accept false 409
documents from the employee. 410
(6) (a) All third-party employers that conduct business in 411
Mississippi shall register to do business in Mississippi with the 412
Mississippi Department of Employment Security before placing 413
employees into the workforce in Mississippi. 414
(b) Third-party employers shall provide proof of 415
registration and any participation in the status verification 416
system to any Mississippi employer with whom they do business. 417
(7) (a) State of Mississippi agencies and political 418
subdivisions, public contractors and public subcontractors and 419
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private employers with two hundred fifty (250) or more employees 420
shall meet verification requirements not later than July 1, 2008. 421
(b) Employers with at least one hundred (100) but less 422
than two hundred fifty (250) employees shall meet verification 423
requirements not later than July 1, 2009. 424
(c) Employers with at least thirty (30) but less than 425
one hundred (100) employees shall meet verification requirements 426
not later than July 1, 2010. 427
(d) All employers shall meet verification requirements 428
not later than July 1, 2011. 429
(e) (i) Any employer violating the provisions of this 430
section shall be subject to the cancellation of any state or 431
public contract, resulting in ineligibility for any state or 432
public contract for up to three (3) years, the loss of any 433
license, permit, certificate or other document granted to the 434
employer by any agency, department or government entity in the 435
State of Mississippi for the right to do business in Mississippi 436
for up to one (1) year, or both. 437
(ii) The contractor or employer shall be liable 438
for any additional costs incurred by the agencies and institutions 439
of the State of Mississippi, or any of its political subdivisions, 440
because of the cancellation of the contract or the loss of any 441
license or permit to do business in the state. 442
(iii) Any person or entity penalized under this 443
section shall have the right to appeal to the appropriate entity 444
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bringing charges or to the circuit court of competent 445
jurisdiction. 446
(f) The Department of Employment Security, State Tax 447
Commission, Secretary of State, Department of Human Services and 448
the Attorney General shall have the authority to seek penalties 449
under this section and to bring charges for noncompliance against 450
any employer or employee. 451
(8) (a) There shall be no liability under this section in 452
the following circumstances: 453
(i) An employer who hires an employee through a 454
state or federal work program that requires verification of the 455
employee's social security number and provides for verification of 456
the employee's lawful presence in the United States in an 457
employment-authorized immigration status; 458
(ii) Any candidate for employment referred by the 459
Mississippi Department of Employment Security, if the Mississippi 460
Department of Employment Security has verified the social security 461
number and provides for verification of the candidate's lawful 462
presence in the United States in an employment-authorized 463
immigration status; or 464
(iii) Individual homeowners who hire workers on 465
their private property for noncommercial purposes, unless required 466
by federal law to do so. 467
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ST: Illegal immigration; strengthen enforcement
to prevent.
(b) (i) Compliance with the sections of this statute 468
shall not exempt the employer from regulations and requirements 469
related to any federal laws or procedures related to employers. 470
(ii) This section shall not be construed as an 471
attempt to preempt federal law. 472
(c) (i) It shall be a felony for any person to accept 473
or perform employment for compensation knowing or in reckless 474
disregard that the person is an unauthorized alien with respect to 475
employment during the period in which the unauthorized employment 476
occurred. Upon conviction, a violator shall be subject to 477
imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for 478
not less than one (1) year nor more than five (5) years, a fine of 479
not less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) nor more than Ten 480
Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both. 481
(ii) For purposes of determining bail for persons 482
who are charged under this section, it shall be a rebuttable 483
presumption that a defendant who has entered and remains in the 484
United States unlawfully is deemed at risk of flight for purposes 485
of bail determination. 486
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from 487
and after July 1, 2026. 488