More wasting of taxpayer money for grandstanding governor:
After a weekend trip to Texas, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Monday she plans to — for a third time — send Iowa law enforcement officials to assist Texas authorities with security efforts at the U.S.-Mexico border.
During a news conference Monday at the Iowa Capitol, Reynolds repeated her criticism of how Democratic President Joe Biden’s has enforced federal immigration laws, and cast doubt that Congress would be able to pass border security legislation.
She traveled to Eagle Pass, Texas, on Sunday to join Texas Gov. Greg Abbott — along with 12 other Republican governors — at a news conference, where she did not speak.
Back Monday in Iowa, Reynolds said she is working with Texas authorities to once again send Iowa State Patrol officers and Iowa National Guard troops to aid Texas authorities with border security efforts.
“For three years, Texas has been on the front line of the most serious national security and humanitarian crisis of our time, and Gov. Abbott has led the response,” Reynolds told reporters Monday. “Having no option but to protect itself, Texas is enforcing the law by denying illegal entry and detaining those who attempt it. … If the federal government won’t do the job protecting Americans, the states will step in.”
Reynolds said other states’ assistance to Texas is needed because, she said, the federal government has not sufficiently addressed historical spikes in illegal migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border. She attributed increases in fentanyl seizures, drug overdose deaths, and human trafficking to illegal immigration issues.
The details of the pending deployment are still being worked out with Texas authorities, Reynolds said.
It will be the third time Reynolds has deployed Iowans to assist Texas authorities with border security. In 2021, she dispatched 30 Iowa State Patrol officers. Last year, Reynolds sent 31 Iowa State Patrol officers and 109 Iowa National Guard troops for separate one-month deployments.
The pending mission will again be funded by federal pandemic relief funding, from the American Rescue Plan that Biden signed into law in 2021 and Reynolds opposed. Last year’s deployment cost $2 million, according to the governor’s office.
The governor’s office said Reynolds’ trip to Texas over the weekend was paid for by the Republican Governors Association.
Iowa National Guard has deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border on three other occasions since 2020 in response to a separate federal request, the governor’s office said.
According to the Associated Press reporting on federal figures, arrests for illegal border crossings from Mexico reached an all-time high in December since monthly numbers have been released. The Border Patrol tallied 249,785 arrests on the Mexican border in December, up 31 percent from 191,112 in November and up 13 percent from 222,018 in December 2022, the previous all-time high, the AP reported.
Reynolds, as she has on multiple occasions in the past, excoriated the Biden administration’s enforcement of border security policies, for which she blamed the influx of illegal border crossings.
Biden has said there are limitations on what the president can accomplish without Congressional action. Asked Monday to comment after the news conferences, the White House pointed to remarks Biden made Jan. 30 to reporters.
“I’ve done all I can do. Just give me the power. I’ve asked from the very day I got into office. Give me the Border Patrol. Give me the people — give me the people, the judges. Give me the people who can stop this and make it work right,” Biden said.
Border security legislation is being considered in the U.S. Senate, but Reynolds declined when asked Monday to call for its passage, instead reiterating that she believes the Biden administration should be stronger in its enforcement of immigration policy. She also expressed doubt that the Republican-led U.S. House and Democrat-led U.S. Senate would reach an agreement.
“Both (political) parties are guilty and not coming to the table, sitting down and having an adult conversation about what we do moving forward,” Reynolds said. “I don’t have a lot of confidence in — no disrespect to the people that serve out in Washington, DC., I’m grateful for them — but listen, in this environment, I don’t have a lot of confidence in really too much getting done.”
www.thegazette.com
After a weekend trip to Texas, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Monday she plans to — for a third time — send Iowa law enforcement officials to assist Texas authorities with security efforts at the U.S.-Mexico border.
During a news conference Monday at the Iowa Capitol, Reynolds repeated her criticism of how Democratic President Joe Biden’s has enforced federal immigration laws, and cast doubt that Congress would be able to pass border security legislation.
She traveled to Eagle Pass, Texas, on Sunday to join Texas Gov. Greg Abbott — along with 12 other Republican governors — at a news conference, where she did not speak.
Back Monday in Iowa, Reynolds said she is working with Texas authorities to once again send Iowa State Patrol officers and Iowa National Guard troops to aid Texas authorities with border security efforts.
“For three years, Texas has been on the front line of the most serious national security and humanitarian crisis of our time, and Gov. Abbott has led the response,” Reynolds told reporters Monday. “Having no option but to protect itself, Texas is enforcing the law by denying illegal entry and detaining those who attempt it. … If the federal government won’t do the job protecting Americans, the states will step in.”
Reynolds said other states’ assistance to Texas is needed because, she said, the federal government has not sufficiently addressed historical spikes in illegal migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border. She attributed increases in fentanyl seizures, drug overdose deaths, and human trafficking to illegal immigration issues.
The details of the pending deployment are still being worked out with Texas authorities, Reynolds said.
It will be the third time Reynolds has deployed Iowans to assist Texas authorities with border security. In 2021, she dispatched 30 Iowa State Patrol officers. Last year, Reynolds sent 31 Iowa State Patrol officers and 109 Iowa National Guard troops for separate one-month deployments.
The pending mission will again be funded by federal pandemic relief funding, from the American Rescue Plan that Biden signed into law in 2021 and Reynolds opposed. Last year’s deployment cost $2 million, according to the governor’s office.
The governor’s office said Reynolds’ trip to Texas over the weekend was paid for by the Republican Governors Association.
Iowa National Guard has deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border on three other occasions since 2020 in response to a separate federal request, the governor’s office said.
According to the Associated Press reporting on federal figures, arrests for illegal border crossings from Mexico reached an all-time high in December since monthly numbers have been released. The Border Patrol tallied 249,785 arrests on the Mexican border in December, up 31 percent from 191,112 in November and up 13 percent from 222,018 in December 2022, the previous all-time high, the AP reported.
Reynolds, as she has on multiple occasions in the past, excoriated the Biden administration’s enforcement of border security policies, for which she blamed the influx of illegal border crossings.
Biden has said there are limitations on what the president can accomplish without Congressional action. Asked Monday to comment after the news conferences, the White House pointed to remarks Biden made Jan. 30 to reporters.
“I’ve done all I can do. Just give me the power. I’ve asked from the very day I got into office. Give me the Border Patrol. Give me the people — give me the people, the judges. Give me the people who can stop this and make it work right,” Biden said.
Border security legislation is being considered in the U.S. Senate, but Reynolds declined when asked Monday to call for its passage, instead reiterating that she believes the Biden administration should be stronger in its enforcement of immigration policy. She also expressed doubt that the Republican-led U.S. House and Democrat-led U.S. Senate would reach an agreement.
“Both (political) parties are guilty and not coming to the table, sitting down and having an adult conversation about what we do moving forward,” Reynolds said. “I don’t have a lot of confidence in — no disrespect to the people that serve out in Washington, DC., I’m grateful for them — but listen, in this environment, I don’t have a lot of confidence in really too much getting done.”
Gov. Reynolds plans 3rd deployment of Iowa officers to aid Texas’ border patrol efforts
During a news conference Monday at the Iowa Capitol, Reynolds repeated her criticism of how President Joe Biden’s has enforced federal immigration laws, and cast doubt that Congress will be able to pass border security legislation.
www.thegazette.com
