Immigration

SB 2473 prohibits nonresident aliens from owning land in Mississippi if they are from countries designated as "foreign adversaries" by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce or known human rights violators. It requires existing nonresident alien owners to sell land within 1-2 years (depending on how they acquired it) or face fines up to $5 million, followed by civil forfeiture. Real estate professionals must disclose these restrictions to clients but are not liable for verifying foreign adversary status. The bill died in committee on February 4, 2025, and never became law.

SB 2057, the Mississippi Civil Rights Act, would prohibit discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, immigrant status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or familial status in employment, housing, public accommodations, and educational institutions. It would create legal remedies for victims, including compensatory damages for emotional harm, back pay for employment discrimination, and attorney fees. The law would apply to employers with 9+ employees, public spaces open to the general public, and schools, while excluding religious organizations from employment discrimination rules for religious roles and certain family businesses. The bill was referred to committee in January 2025 but died in committee on February 4, 2025, and has not advanced.

HB 695 prohibits foreign nationals (non-citizens not lawfully residing in the U.S.) from contributing money or making expenditures related to Mississippi state or local ballot measures. The bill defines "foreign national" using federal standards but excludes U.S. citizens. It also bans anyone from soliciting, accepting, or receiving such contributions from foreign nationals. The bill died in committee in February 2025 and never became law.

HB 665 would revise Mississippi's driver's license requirements by allowing applicants without a Social Security number to use a sworn affidavit instead of providing one. It creates a new "Certificate for Driving" option and updates rules for proving residency during license applications. The bill also requires additional staff training for license examiners and specifies acceptable documents for verifying address. These changes would directly affect applicants, particularly those without Social Security numbers, by simplifying documentation for license issuance.

HB 416 requires Mississippi's statewide standardized tests for English Language Learner (ELL) students to be administered in their primary spoken language, except for English language arts tests, which must remain in English. The State Department of Education must translate and print these tests in the appropriate language for each grade level and provide translation assistance through proctors or observers when requested. School districts must report the number, grades, and primary spoken languages of ELL students to the Department and request translation support before testing. This bill directly affects all public and charter schools in Mississippi that administer statewide assessments.

SB 2041 would criminalize enrolling a child in a Mississippi public school without establishing the child's permanent residence (domicile) in the state and district. Parents, guardians, or custodians found guilty of willful enrollment without domicile would face misdemeanor penalties of up to $500 fines or 30 days in jail, and the child would be expelled from school. School employees must report violations to law enforcement, and the bill defines "permanent residence" as the place where a person lives with the intent to stay there permanently. This bill specifically targets out-of-state enrollments without proper domicile, aiming to enforce residency requirements for public school attendance.

This bill would create the "Mississippi Illegal Alien Certified Bounty Hunter Program," allowing licensed bail bond agents to become certified bounty hunters focused on locating and detaining undocumented immigrants in Mississippi. It establishes a new felony offense ("trespass by an illegal alien") punishable by life imprisonment without parole, disqualifies offenders from voting, driving, or accessing state benefits, and offers a $1,000 reward for reporting undocumented immigrants to a dedicated state information system. The program requires DNA collection upon apprehension and funds implementation through a dedicated state treasury fund. The bill died in committee on February 4, 2025, and did not become law.

House Concurrent Resolution 5 (HC 5) proposes amending Mississippi's 1890 Constitution to explicitly state that only U.S. citizens may vote in state or local elections and referendums. The bill would replace existing language by removing the term "inhabitant" and specifying "citizens of the United States" as a requirement, while maintaining current residency, age, registration, and disqualification rules (e.g., for certain felony convictions). This change would directly affect non-citizen residents who currently have voting eligibility under Mississippi’s current constitution. The amendment would be submitted to voters in the November 2026 election, with the ballot explanation stating it "provides that only citizens of the United States are allowed the opportunity to vote."

SB 2511, the Mississippi Immigration Enforcement Act of 2025, creates a special fund to support state immigration enforcement by imposing a fee on money transmitters (e.g., Western Union). The fee - $7.50 per transaction under $500 plus 1.5% on amounts over $500 - is collected from businesses and directed into the "Illegal Immigration Enforcement Fund," which funds the new Illegal Immigration Enforcement Unit within the Department of Public Safety. This unit is authorized to enforce immigration laws under federal Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, requiring county detention facilities to enter into agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by a specific deadline. The bill also prohibits contracts with carriers knowingly transporting unauthorized aliens, though it died in committee on February 4, 2025, and never became law.

HB 1440, the "Mississippi Immigration Enforcement Act of 2025," would have required money transmission businesses (like check cashers or remittance services) to collect a $7.50 fee plus 1.5% of transactions over $500 per transaction. Funds from these fees would have been deposited into a new "Illegal Immigration Enforcement Fund" to support a dedicated unit within Mississippi's Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement agencies participating in a federal immigration program. The bill also would have mandated county detention centers to sign agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by 2026 and provided tax credits to customers who filed tax returns with a Social Security number. The bill died in committee on February 4, 2025, and never became law.