'Cruel and unusual': 'Extreme' GOP bill would put $1000 'bounty' on undocumented immigrants

In the Missouri Legislature, State Sen. David Gregory, a far-right MAGA Republican, is proposing a bill that, if passed, would give a $1000 reward to anyone who reports someone who is in the United States illegally if the report leads to an arrest. And the bill is fueling heated debates among Missouri residents.

Gregory, who served in the Missouri House of Representatives before being elected to the Missouri Senate in 2024, vigorously defended his proposal during a hearing on Monday, January 27.

Gregory told members of the Missouri Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee, "This bill seeks to create an ICE program at the state level. That's essentially all it does. This is an ICE program inside the state of Missouri."

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But Democratic Missouri State Sen. Barbara Washington, whose district is in Kansas City, is calling out the bill as racist and argues that it encourages Missouri residents to file reports based on a person's skin color or proficiency in English.

During the January 27 hearing, Washington warned, "Don't tell me it is not going to happen because it is happening now."

Missouri Independent reporter Rudi Keller, in an article published on January 28, explains, "Gregory, a Republican from Chesterfield, wants to authorize bounty hunters, usually employed by bail bond businesses to catch absconders, to track down people identified in tips. And if the tip proves accurate, the person arrested would be charged with 'trespass by an illegal alien,' and subject to life in prison without parole if federal immigration authorities declined to take custody."

The New York Post's Jon Levine noted that Gregory's bill would "develop an information system for people to report violations of this act, which shall include a toll-free telephone hotline, e-mail and online reporting portal."

Washington wasn't the only person speaking out against Gregory's bill at the January 27 hearing.

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Gabriella Cepeda of the Hispanic Law Students Association at St. Louis University told attendees, "This bill fosters a climate of fear, where people feel unsafe engaging in even the most basic activities beyond going to work or school. They are terrified of being profiled or targeted (for) life in prison for simply existing in the state without documentation. It is not just extreme, it's cruel and unusual punishment."

Similarly, immigrant Aura Velasquez — who has been a U.S. citizen for five years — testified, "It is inhumane to say people should be hunted like a sport. It would turn neighbors against neighbors and friends against each other."

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Read the Missouri Independent's article at this link.