07-02-2025
Missouri to track, report immigration status under Kehoe executive order
ST. LOUIS – Missouri is set to become one of the first states to require police to track and report the immigration status of people involved in crimes.
Gov. Mike Kehoe's executive order, which is part of his Safer Missouri Initiative, has sparked debate. Some say it is about public safety, while others fear it could discourage crime reporting and create mistrust in immigrant communities.
'The states don't enforce immigration law. They're not supposed to anyway, according to the Supreme Court. That is a federal responsibility. So why does the state need to collect this data as a part of its criminal database for people who have committed crimes in this state?' Missouri and Illinois immigration attorney David Cox said.
Members of the immigrant community in St. Louis spoke off-camera that they're afraid this policy could put them in danger. Some say they fear reporting crimes or cooperating with police, and others are in the middle of the visa process and are afraid they'll be mistakenly labeled as undocumented.
'I'm talking to people every day who call just to ask, 'Is there something I should be worried about? What can I do? How can I protect myself?' And those are hard conversations to have sometimes. People have called me in tears,' Cox added.
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The policy comes after a series of crimes involving undocumented immigrants, including the death of St. Louis Police Officer David Lee. Missouri leaders like Sen. Josh Hawley have pointed to these cases in calls for stricter immigration laws.
'If you are here illegally, you shouldn't be here at all. Number 1: That in itself is a crime. And number 2, if you commit a crime of violence, you ought to be out of this country in a heartbeat,' the senator said.
But Cox questions whether this new policy would have prevented those tragedies.
'I don't think there was a particular oversight that resulted in that tragedy happening. The person happened to be an immigrant, an undocumented immigrant, but other than that chance item, I'm not sure a law like this will change anything like this in the future,' Cox said.
Meanwhile, St. Louis Metropolitan Police and St. Louis County Police say they have yet to receive guidance from the state on how to implement this order.
Several people in the immigrant community expressed how they are left wondering whether they'll be unfairly targeted and what will happen next.
The Department of Public Safety did not give a specific date but says implementation will take place in the coming weeks.
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