The Iowa House passed a measure Tuesday implementing citizenship and work eligibility vetting requirements for Iowa school staff and other public employees, which also included changes to state law on pretrial detentions of undocumented immigrants who register to vote.
Senate File 2218 passed the Iowa Senate unanimously in February. The language passed in the Senate bill requires the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners to have applicants for new and renewing licenses provide information to the board of their legal authorization to work in the country. Educators not subject to license renewals are required to submit evidence to the BOEE every five years proving their ability to work and remain in the country in order to stay licensed.
The bill also requires public school boards, the entities overseeing charter schools and nonpublic schools to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all individuals who accept a job offer at their institution.
These provisions were introduced, and approved with bipartisan support in the Senate, in response to the immigration arrest of former Des Moines Public Schools superintendent Ian Roberts in September 2025. According to U.S. Department of Homeland Security reports, Roberts was given an order of removal by an immigration judge in May 2024 and faced previous criminal charges.
But the House amended the bill during floor debate Tuesday to include several other proposals related to citizenship verification and immigrants’ status in Iowa.
Citizenship verification for state employment, licensing
The bill incorporates language from Senate File 2412 — a bill which also passed the Senate and has a companion in the House codifying an executive order from Gov. Kim Reynolds on licensing and public employment. The legislation requires the government and licensing boards to use the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database and E-Verify system to verify citizenship and legal status of people seeking state government jobs or professional and occupational licenses.
Rep. Angelina Ramirez, D-Cedar Rapids, criticized the measure for relying on federal systems like SAVE that have “been proven to be faulty,” sometimes resulting in false positives. Ramirez said these false positives often occur with women who change their last names related to marriage, and for legal immigrants.
“A meaningful portion of our licensed health care workers are legal immigrants,” Ramirez said. “If I’m a doctor and have a visa and I’m choosing where to work in the Midwest, will I willingly work in Iowa where I have the possibility of having my license be denied renewal because of a false allegation that I’m undocumented, or would I choose to work in a state where that risk is not there? Iowans are already facing a health care crisis. This bill will drive out critical health care workers out of our state, lengthen wait times, and make it harder for Iowa families to get the care that they need.”
Language was also added to state undocumented immigrants who register to vote illegally are subject to a Class D felony charge, and that these individuals, if arrested, would also be denied pretrial release. Ramirez said the bill also “categorically denies bail to entire classes of defendants,” which she said is unconstitutional.
Democrats also criticized majority Republicans’ decision to wrap multiple measures into one bill, instead of debating them as individual measure. Rep. Elinor Levin, D-Iowa City, called the amended measure a “franken-bill that will affect all sectors in their hiring processes” and cost the state significant money.
Rep. Brooke Boden, R-Indianola, the bill’s floor manager, said each of measures incorporated into the bill were passed through the House committee process.
“I simply say that, on the amendment, that safety is a priority and we did have an opportunity to talk about each one of these bills before they were amended into this bill,” Boden said. “This is an employment verification bill that wraps — you’re right — multiple agencies into this, but each one of these bills have already moved through our committees, and we’ve had plenty of time to have that discussion.”
The measure passed the House in a 78-16 vote, and returns to the Senate for consideration.
