Missouri floats program to deputize citizens as migrant bounty hunters

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.

“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.

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.

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”.

“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.”