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Missouri Senate hears bill on life imprisonment for people in U.S. without legal status

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Missouri Senate hears bill on life imprisonment for people in U.S. without legal status


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A Missouri Senate committee heard hours of testimony Monday on illegal immigration legislation that includes life imprisonment for those found guilty and a bounty of $1,000 for reporting people without legal status in the U.S.

Through one of the pieces of legislation, someone who is in the country without legal status who enters Missouri and remains would be guilty of a new felony trespassing charge.

The penalty would be life imprisonment without parole, probation or conditional release except by action of the governor.

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Those penalties would not apply if the federal government enters into a written agreement with the Missouri Department of Public Safety to take into custody and deport the person.

Sen. David Gregory, R-Chesterfield, sponsor of the legislation, said the bill’s goal is to create an equivalent of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Much like ICE, we have to actually do an effective investigation and have enough probable cause to initiate a warrant for someone’s arrest before they can be tracked and arrested,” Gregory said.

Gregory said through his bill it would be illegal to conduct warrantless arrests, even though that is not specified in the measure.

“It is not allowed per constitutional law, which means we cannot change it here, nor can the federal government change it,” Gregory said.

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Sen. Barbara Washington, D-Kansas City, asked Gregory for specifics on how this issue is affecting Missourians today.

“I am so sick of folks coming in here and telling me about what’s going on here, there and everywhere and not talking about the issues we have in our own state,” Washington said.

Gregory did not give specific examples in response to Washington’s question.

Gregory also referenced a substitute of his original bill that he’s building. That version has not been posted online.

A $1,000 bounty

The first version of the bill would require the state Department of Public Safety to create a system in which anyone can contact authorities and accuse someone of being here without legal documentation.

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The system must include a telephone number, an email address and an online portal people can use.

People who would use it to report someone could remain anonymous. Within the bill language, there are no penalties if someone were to report on a person who has proper legal status.

If the accused person is in Missouri without legal status, the person who reported them would receive $1,000.

Sen. Stephen Webber, D-Columbia, asked Gregory if there were courses of action someone could take if they were incorrectly accused.

“If somebody tries to call in a tip and says, ‘I think my neighbor is undocumented’ and there’s an investigation, that person was not undocumented, do they have any kind of recourse for their troubles?” Webber said.

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Gregory said it is currently against the law to harass or give false reports to hotlines.

The legislation also expands who can become a bounty hunter in the state in relation to the issue. It allows anyone with an unexpired valid license as a bail bond agent, general bond agent or surety recovery agent to apply to the program.

The bill also creates a fund that would provide money to implement the proposed act. The legislature would be responsible for coming up with the funding.

The committee briefly discussed a fiscal note on the cost of the bill, which amounts to roughly $4.5 million.

Only one person spoke in favor of the legislation, while over 30 spoke against it.

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Tori Schafer with the ACLU of Missouri said the ACLU has already sued over similar laws in Iowa, Oklahoma and Texas.

“We’ve been successful in those cases because judges have agreed that we’re likely to succeed on the merits, because the federal government has an invested interest in carrying out federal law, which is exactly what we’re talking about,” Schaefer said.

Yazmin Bruno-Valdez, a recipient of the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, also spoke against the legislation. She said it would pit neighbors against one another.

“It would incentivize discrimination, foster xenophobia and perpetuate division by placing a price tag of a mere $1,000,” Bruno-Valdez said.

Hours earlier on Monday, senators heard similar legislation from Sen. Jill Carter, R-Granby.

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The legislation makes it illegal for someone to enter Missouri if they do not have legal status in the United States.

They would be fined $10,000 and deported on the first offence. On subsequent offenses, the punishment would include prison time of one to seven years.

“It’s morally imperative to strike a balance between the unresponsive federal government and the plight of our communities and law enforcement,” Carter said.

Three people spoke in favor of the legislation, including David Parrish, a sheriff in Lewis County.

“We feel that this legislation will simply give law enforcement another tool in the tool box to help us assist any of our federal partners,” Parrish said.

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Aura Velasquez was among the over 20 people who spoke against Carter’s legislation. Velasquez was born in Nicaragua and came to the U.S. when she was 5.

“My mom left Nicaragua to set out to find a place she was told was built by immigrants and welcomed them: the United States of America. And now, if this bill was to continue further than an idea, it would destroy the safety of anyone that looks different, my friends, my family and children could be labeled as not human enough to live in peace,” Velasquez said.

The hearings on these bills come a week into President Donald Trump’s second administration. Trump ran on a promise to enact mass deportations.

On Saturday, over 100 protesters gathered in Overland to decry the Trump administration’s immigration policy changes and deportations.

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Missouri

Driver seriously injured after potholes cause semi to crash on I-35 in Missouri

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Driver seriously injured after potholes cause semi to crash on I-35 in Missouri


EAGLEVILLE, Mo. (KCTV) – An Iowa man was seriously injured after potholes on I-35 in Missouri caused his big rig to veer across the interstate and crash into an embankment.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol indicates that around 11:50 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 31, emergency crews were called to the area of northbound I-35 near W. 205h St., about 3 miles south of Eagleville, with reports of a single-vehicle collision.

When first responders arrived, they said they found a 39-year-old Steamboat Rock, Iowa, man had been driving a 2003 Kenworth semi-truck north on the interstate when the rig struck several potholes.

State Troopers said the impact with the potholes caused the 18-wheeler to cross the center median and both southbound lanes of traffic before it hit an embankment west of the roadway and stopped.

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Emergency crews said the driver was taken to Harrison County Community Hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. He was wearing a seatbelt at the time.

Investigators noted that the semi-truck sustained extensive damage as a result. No further information has been released.



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Jones, Booker lead No. 5 Texas women past Missouri for Longhorns' 18th straight home win

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Jones, Booker lead No. 5 Texas women past Missouri for Longhorns' 18th straight home win


Texas forward Madison Booker (35) drives around Missouri guard De’Myla Brown (1) during the second half of an NCAA women’s college basketball game Thursday in Austin, Texas. (Photo courtesy of Associated Press) AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Taylor



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Missouri lawmakers move closer to approving state control over St. Louis Metropolitan Police

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Missouri lawmakers move closer to approving state control over St. Louis Metropolitan Police


ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KY3) – Missouri lawmakers are moving forward with efforts to put the St. Louis police force under state control.

Gov. Mike Kehoe said this would improve Missouri’s economy and reputation, but the city’s police chief is against the idea.

Missouri House Speaker Jon Patterson said a bill to put the St. Louis Metropolitan Police under state control will likely be one of the first bills to be voted on. This comes after committees from both chambers approved similar bills this week.

Bills carried by Rep. Brad Christ and Sen. Nick Schroer would allow the state to take over the St. Louis Metropolitan Police this August. If passed, the Missouri Board of Police Commissioners will appoint four citizens to oversee the police department. The bills also outline salary minimums and staffing requirements with which the police force must comply.

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St. Louis Democratic Rep. Marlon Anderson is not open to compromise. He does not approve of any version of state-controlled police. On the other side of the building, he may face a challenge from his party. Senate Democrats said last week that their caucus is split on the issue.

“This is one of the times where I say we’re better off the way it is right now,” State Rep. Anderson said. “Crime is down, the morale is coming up. So, we can look at our counterparts on the western part of the state, Kansas City, and their crime is trending up.”

If this bill passes, St. Louis and Kansas City would be the only two cities in Missouri where the mayor does not control the police force. According to FBI data, Kansas City’s crime rate has increased since it became state-controlled.

St. Louis Police was under state control until residents voted against it in 2012. It took the city about five years to regain its police force. St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy says the record should speak for itself since then.

“Everything they asked us to do we have met and made progress now you move the goalpost and now you start saying you don’t trust the crime numbers I stand by those crime numbers,” Tracy said in an in-studio interview with KMOV First Alert 4.

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St. Louis city officials flaunted an 11-year record-low number of homicides earlier this month, but this isn’t enough for state leaders. This week, Gov. Mike Kehoe called for this change in his State of the State address.

“As the economic powerhouse of our state, we cannot continue to let crime kill growth in the region and drive businesses and families to move outside of our state’s borders,” Gov. Kehoe said in his address.

According to the Missouri Economic Research Center, St. Louis is responsible for 45% of Missouri’s economy. It’s also home to the state’s most popular tourism destination: the Gateway Arch.

To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com. Please include the article info in the subject line of the email.

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