A new Mississippi law, set to take effect Wednesday, authorizes the state’s top law enforcement agency to compile a list of all immigrants residing in the state without legal documentation. This measure expands the state apparatus's capacity for surveillance and control over a vulnerable segment of the working class. The Department of Public Safety is empowered to use “all reasonable lawful investigative means available” to identify and track these individuals, collecting their names, addresses, country of origin, and whether they are adults or minors.
The law further mandates the collection of any criminal history and details regarding the date, location, and status of deportation proceedings. Information on those suspected of violating laws will be shared with state and local authorities. While the measure neither requires nor prohibits sharing this database with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), its design facilitates such collaboration, increasing the precarity of undocumented labor.
Efrén Olivares, vice president of litigation and legal strategy at the National Immigration Law Center, described the effort as “practically unworkable” due to the fluctuating nature of immigration status. Olivares added that the law is “very worrisome, because it’s eerily reminiscent of other countries that have created lists of certain groups of people,” highlighting the historical precedent of state-sanctioned targeting. Victoria Francis, deputy director of state and local initiatives for the American Immigration Council, stated the law is “very concerning for a bunch of different reasons,” including the potential to divert law enforcement resources away from public protection towards investigating individuals who “may be contributing to the economy.” Francis warned that “A mandate like this invites profiling and turning entire communities into targets.” Lydia Grizzell, policy and advocacy manager for the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, noted that the law could undermine trust between police and residents, making individuals less likely to seek law enforcement assistance when needed.
The State's Role in Capital Control
Republican state Sen. Angela Hill, who sponsored the measure, asserted that states possess a right and obligation to assist the U.S. government in discouraging “illegal immigration,” which she claimed facilitates crimes such as human and drug trafficking. Hill characterized the measure as “seems like commonsense to me,” stating, “In order to address the problems caused by illegal immigration, we need to understand the magnitude of the problem. Identifying the number and identity of illegal aliens in Mississippi is a concrete way to better understand the problem.” This framing presents state surveillance as a necessary tool for public safety, obscuring its function in maintaining a disciplined and exploitable labor force.
Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, supported the law, stating it “makes a lot of sense” and “raises the likelihood that someone’s illegal presence is going to come to the attention of federal authorities.” This perspective openly acknowledges the law's role in funneling individuals into the federal enforcement pipeline. The Mississippi law mirrors a 2021 executive order by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, which directed the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to identify “illegal aliens” transported from the nation’s southwest border. That Florida agency has not reported on the results of its order in the fifth year since its issuance. The Trump administration has also intensified enforcement of a decades-old federal law requiring noncitizens to register with the U.S. government, demonstrating a consistent pattern of state action to increase control over migrant populations.
Targeting Labor for Exploitation
Despite the expansive nature of the new law, Mississippi has one of the country’s smallest percentages of immigrants residing without legal documentation. According to a report by the American Immigration Council, utilizing 2023 Census Bureau data from the third year prior, fewer than 28,000 people, amounting to less than 1% of the state's population, fall into this category. The disproportionate state effort against such a numerically small group suggests a strategic move to further marginalize and control a segment of the working class, rather than addressing a widespread “problem.”
The Mississippi law is not a one-time count but prescribes an ongoing effort to track immigrants for the next two years. This continuous surveillance ensures a heightened state of vulnerability for these workers, making their status perpetually precarious and susceptible to state intervention. Nationwide, states have enacted over 100 immigration-related laws this year. Republican-led states have generally aligned with the Trump agenda, requiring local sheriffs to sign cooperative agreements with ICE, reinforcing eligibility restrictions for public benefits, and directing election clerks to check voter rolls against federal systems to flag noncitizens. These measures collectively aim to restrict access to social resources and increase the state's power to manage and suppress labor.
In contrast, Democratic-led states have implemented laws banning cooperative pacts with ICE, forbidding tactics like wearing masks, and restricting immigration enforcement actions in schools, hospitals, and other sensitive locations without judicial warrants. While these actions offer limited protections, they operate within the existing framework of immigration enforcement, managing the system's contradictions without challenging the fundamental structures that create and exploit a precarious migrant workforce.