A Missouri lawmaker wants to create a program which would give residents $1,000 payouts for reporting illegal immigrants in their communities to authorities.
The bounty-hunter-style system was proposed by Senator-elect Davod Gregory, who wants to allow regular bail bond agents to be certified to go after those who crossed the border illegally.
Gregory introduced Senate Bill 72 on December 1, and it includes bars for undocumented migrants on receiving benefits, a driver’s license or the ability to be a legal resident of Missouri.
American Families United President Ashley DeAzevedo said in a statement that the bill’s introduction was “an alarming sign” of things to come in regard to anti-immigration policies.
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“A bounty system, where Missourians would be empowered to report neighbors, colleagues, and classmates they suspect of being non-citizens will create absolute chaos and division,” DeAzevedo said.
Asylum seekers are processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on June 8, 2024 in Jacumba Hot Springs, California. A Senator-elect in Missouri wants to introduce bounty hunters who can report… Asylum seekers are processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on June 8, 2024 in Jacumba Hot Springs, California. A Senator-elect in Missouri wants to introduce bounty hunters who can report undocumented migrants to authorities.
Qian Weizhong/VCG via AP
It’s estimated that there are around 20,000 Missourians in mixed-status families, with many of the immigrants in those families having lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years.
At the American Immigration Council’s last estimate, in 2022, there were around 59,300 undocumented migrants in the state. By comparison, California was home to around 2.1 million.
Gregory’s proposed bill would create a “Missouri Illegal Alien Certified Bounty Hunter Program”, which would award $1,000 payouts to those who make eligible reports to the State Highway Patrol. Migrants would then be incarcerated “without eligibility for probation or parole”.
“The harm this would cause to mixed-status families and their communities can not be understated,” DeAzevedo added.
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Newsweek reached out to Gregory via email for comment Thursday afternoon.
The bill also states that entering the U.S. illegally would be a felony offense. In most cases, those who do make these crossings face civil penalties, or removal, but they are rarely prosecuted as felons.
Immigration enforcement is also a federal government responsibility, but states have been pushing the limits of their involvement in recent years.
Texas has taken border security into its own hands with Operation Lone Star, while Arizona and Oklahoma are among others that have introduced bills seeking to restrict migrant rights.
Local attorney Javad Khazaeli told First Alert 4 Investigates that Gregory’s proposal was a solution looking for problems, describing it as “Nazi Germany stuff”.
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“There is no easier way to harass people of color than to allow a phone number where I can call and claim they are not here documented and expect police to crash through their doors,” Khazaeli told the outlet. “This is ripe for abuse. This is purely harassment.”
A tractor-trailer carrying tofu that crashed southwest of Rolla has been stinking up a part of Phelps County for weeks.
The semi crashed March 1 on Interstate 44 near a ravine known as Tater Hollow.
Local authorities say no one was hurt, but the crash scene at the 172-mile marker is still there. One local resident wrote online that the rotting tofu left behind smells similar to catfish bait.
“For those of you who drive by this everyday and wonder to yourself ‘why is this still sitting here three weeks after the crash?’ You are not alone,” wrote officials from the nearby Doolittle Rural Fire Protection District, which responded to the wreck.
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Pictures of the site on the fire department’s Facebook page show the semi buckled in a ditch below a low bridge. The front part of the trailer burst open, and dozens of rectangular-shaped boxes, presumably containing tofu, poured out of the truck.
In a social media post, the fire department said cleanup has been slow as the Missouri Department of Transportation works with the truck company’s insurance carrier.
“As we have gathered, it has been a logistical nightmare. We have been given the runaround while attempting to recoup the costs that our department endured during the response and initial cleanup,” the post said.
MoDOT officials said they are working closely with the Department of Natural Resources and the Missouri State Highway Patrol to figure out how to get the truck out of the ditch.
“We are looking at a towing company to coordinate that removal, and it could begin as early as the end of this week,” said MoDOT Central District Communications Manager Marcia Johnson. “But it is going to be a time-consuming removal that could cause some traffic impacts.”
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Johnson added that the cleanup could be slightly more complicated than other operations because the wreck involves food products.
For residents nearby, the cleanup can’t come soon enough.
“In case you were wondering, tofu tends to stink pretty bad after sitting out for three weeks!” said the fire department’s post.
RICHMOND, Texas (KTRK) — Former Missouri City police officer Blademir Viveros was convicted of aggravated assault by a public servant on Monday.
After five days of witness testimony, body camera footage, and tears in the courtroom, the jury found Viveros guilty after he was accused of killing three people in a high-speed wreck while responding to an emergency.
PREVIOUS REPORT: Families of victims testify, state and defense rest cases in former MCPD officer manslaughter trial
Arguments closed just after 2:30 p.m. on Monday.
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Chief Prosecutor Alison Baimbridge made it clear throughout the trial that no stone was left unturned in the investigation in this case, saying that this crash was avoidable and not an accident.
Defense attorneys tag-teamed their closing argument, with Eric Cagle going first as he told the jury Viveros intended to help the victims of the robbery he was responding to.
Defense attorney Robert McCabe then spoke, adding that Viveros has a servant’s heart. He called the crash an accident and said that Viveros did not drive his car intentionally into the car of Mason and Angela Stewart.
McCabe told the jurors Viveros was negligent and should’ve done better, and mentioned the failures by the police department and his supervisors.
“This case just doesn’t belong here, it just doesn’t in this court…in criminal court…in criminal district court on a felony offense with a weapon, alleged for these facts. For this case, it doesn’t belong here. Justice comes in many forms and shouldn’t be sought in this court. There’s plenty of reasonable doubt.” McCabe said.
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“If you think about the facts in this case, they’re not disputed,” Baimbridge said. “Nobody is arguing that this crash did not happen in the way that the officers say it did. No one is arguing the defendant turned off his patrol lights and his sirens. No one is arguing he was going 107 miles per hour when he took lives from our community – he just wants a pass.”
After the closing arguments, the jury was sent out of the courtroom to deliberate. The jury then returned about two and a half hours later, finding Viveros guilty on all three counts of aggravated assault by a public servant.
The punishment phase of the trial begins on Tuesday morning. Viveros now faces five years to life in prison.
For updates on this story, follow Daniela Hurtado on Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Missouri Department of Transportation announced a segment of I-70 Drive Southeast from Woodridge to Glenstone Drive in Columbia will close beginning Monday after being delayed for 14 days.
The entrance to Woodridge Drive from I-70 Drive Southeast will also be closed. The closure is set to last 300 days and aims to be completed in January 2027, according to a news release from MoDOT.
The closure will enable crews to shift traffic on I-70 to construct two new bridges on I-70. This will allow the construction of the new underpass connecting Hanover Boulevard to I-70 Drive Southeast.
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All businesses will remain accessible during the closure. Motorists will be directed around the closure via Keene Street and St. Charles Road, according to the news release.
The closure was originally set for March 9. According to past KOMU 8 reporting, MoDOT postponed the project due to weather and crew availability.
