Gov. Kim Reynolds deploys Iowa national guard, law enforcement to southern border
Gov. Kim Reynolds has again deployed national guard troops and law enforcement personnel to the southern border. Iowa State Patrol officers were sent to the U.S.-Mexico border in June 2021. (Photo courtesy of the Department of Public Safety)
by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch
May 31, 2023
Iowa National Guard troops and Department of Public Safety employees will deploy to the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas in the coming months, following a request for assistance by Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott.
Gov. Kim Reynolds answered Abbott’s request this week, announcing Iowa would deploy 100 National Guard troops in August and 30 DPS personnel in September for 30 days each. Reynolds was one of 10 Republican governors who met with the Texas governor in Austin earlier in May, according to a news release by Abbott.
Abbott called for funding and personnel help for the military and Border Patrol along the southern border following President Joe Biden’s decision to end Title 42 in early May. The COVID-era policy prevented most migrants seeking asylum from entering the country because of concerns about the spread of coronavirus.
Reynolds and other Republicans have criticized the choice to end this policy, saying that it will encourage illegal crossings and drug trafficking along the southern border.
“The crisis we are experiencing is a direct result of a dereliction of duty by President Biden. The consequences of an open border can be felt across the country as fentanyl and the cartels threaten our communities,” Reynolds said in a news release Tuesday. “While the White House chooses to do nothing, Republican Governors stand ready to protect our states’ interests.”
The Biden administration has said more funding is needed to improve screening technology at ports of entry.
Reynolds brought up the end of Title 42 when she signed into law measures raising penalties on fentanyl manufacturing, distribution and possession, with higher sentences when the drug use results in injury or death.
While the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reports that most fentanyl comes into the country through legal ports of entry by U.S. citizens after production in China and Mexico, Reynolds has linked rising fentanyl overdose rates to immigration along the southern border.
“It’s no mystery where the flood of drugs is coming from and how they’re getting into our communities and what needs to be done,” Reynolds told reporters in Atlantic. “What is a mystery is why the Biden administration refuses to act.”
The summer deployments will be the second time Reynolds has sent Iowans to assist with border security efforts in Texas. Reynolds sent 28 Iowa State Patrol troopers to work with Texas law enforcement as a part of “Operation Lone Star” in southwest Texas from July 10 through 20 in 2021.
During those two weeks, Iowa law enforcement officials said Iowa troopers assisted with 240 criminal arrests the seizures of nearly 950 pounds of marijuana, 37 pounds of cocaine and methamphetamine and 18 firearms. The state-funded mission cost roughly $300,000.
Iowa DPS Commissioner Stephan Bayens said Iowa law enforcement is ready to help Texas provide humanitarian aid and public safety assistance again.
“Our officers experienced first-hand the challenges of a chaotic border and provided much needed aid and assistance to our colleagues at the Texas Department of Public Safety,” Bayens said in a news release. “Their need for help is even greater today, and we stand ready to support them without compromising our duties to our home state.”
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