DES MOINES, Iowa —

It's been over a year since Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a law making it a state crime for someone previously denied admission or removed from the U.S. to be in Iowa.

As of Thursday night, it's not any closer to taking effect, as a federal judge upheld the injunction blocking it .

That injunction came after immigrant advocacy groups like the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice (Iowa MMJ) and the ACLU of Iowa filed a lawsuit in 2024.

But one of the lawmakers behind the law says this isn't the end of the road.

"States have a right to defend themselves," said Republican state Rep. Steven Holt. "As long as Republicans are in charge, we're going to continue to do that."

Holt said the law was originally inspired by a similar piece of legislation out of Texas during th

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