Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds sends 109 Iowa National Guard soldiers to U.S.-Mexico border

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said she will use federal COVID-19 relief dollars to cover all expenses for the deployment of Iowa National Guard soldiers and state law enforcement officers to Texas to assist with security along the southern border.

Reynolds announced 109 soldiers from the Iowa National Guard on Wednesday deployed to Texas in support of Operation Lone Star, with the mission of “deterring illegal border crossings and preventing the trafficking of illegal substances by cartels through Texas.” The deployment will last until Sept. 1, the governor’s office said.

Iowa State Patrol officers will deploy Aug. 31 for a separate 30-day stint to support Texas state troopers with criminal interdiction, crime prevention, traffic enforcement and law enforcement assistance. An investigative team also will support Texas investigations of narcotics, weapons and human trafficking along the border, according to a news release from the governor’s office. That deployment will end Oct. 2.

This is the Iowa Guard’s third deployment to the U.S. southern border since 2020, but the first pursuant to a state mission.

Reynolds announced in May plans to send Iowa Guard members and state law officers to the border in response to a request for aid from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott following the end of Title 42, a pandemic-era rule that allowed the federal government to expel migrants more easily.

In the letter, Abbott, a Republican, said Texas had apprehended over 376,000 migrants and made 28,000 arrests since the March 2021 inception of Operation Lone Star.

In 2021, up to 30 Iowa Department of Public Safety officers and 24 Iowa National Guard members assisted in law enforcement efforts at the border in response to requests from Abbott and fellow Republican Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona and, for Guard troops, from the federal government, costing the state about $300,000.

During the first deployment, Iowa officers assisted with 240 criminal arrests and 51 vehicle pursuits. They also seized 18 firearms, $1.7 million, 948 pounds of marijuana and 37 pounds of cocaine and methamphetamine, the governor’s office said.

Reynolds defended the decision by stating border security is a federal responsibility that has not been adequately addressed by Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration. The Republican governor has been critical of Biden’s border policies, placing the blame on him for record-high crossings, humanitarian concerns and an increase in fentanyl coming into the United States.

Reynolds, in a statement, said “Iowa’s unique location at the intersection of two major interstates makes it a target for human traffickers and drug cartels.”

“Since the administration refuses to invest in securing the border and protecting its citizens, Texas has asked other states to help, and Iowa is ready and willing to assist,” Reynolds said.

Migrants arrested crossing along the U.S.-Mexico jumped more than 30 percent in July, according to preliminary U.S. Customs and Border Protection data obtained by The Washington Post.

U.S. agents made more than 130,000 arrests along the Mexico border last month, up from 99,545 in June. Authorities allowed an additional 50,000 migrants to cross into the United States in July, primarily through Biden administration programs allowing asylum-seekers to schedule appointments at U.S. ports of entry using the U.S. Customs and Border Protection One mobile application.

Unlawful border crossings, though, have declined following the enactment of stricter asylum rules, a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told the Post, and remain lower than the levels recorded in the months before May 11, when the Biden administration ended Title 42.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Reynolds office did not provide an estimate Wednesday, but said all costs related to the deployment will be covered by federal funding allocated to Iowa from the American Rescue Plan that Biden signed into law in 2021 and that Reynolds opposed.

The governor’s office said states are given flexibility in how the federal COVID-19 relief dollars can be used, provided it supports the provision of government services.

A spokesperson for Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat, said the office will review spending and make final determinations about the legality and appropriate use of American Rescue Plan funds in the course of its work.

Reynolds office on Thursday provided more clarity on its rationale and justification for using federal pandemic relief dollars to pay for the deployments.

The governor’s office said it has prioritized using the federal funds to support one-time investments aimed at strengthening the state’s economy, workforce, infrastructure and public health.

“This investment is no different,” the governor’s office said in a statement to The Gazette. “The health of our people and economy is directly threatened by the illegal drugs flowing through the southern border and into our state. The State of Iowa has seen a dramatic increase in the amount of fentanyl and methamphetamine seizures since the pandemic.”

Much of it traced back to Mexican drug cartels, Reynolds office said.

Between March and May of this year, the Iowa Department of Public Safety in conjunction with local and federal law enforcement seized about 363 pounds of methamphetamine, 72 pounds of cocaine and 27,450 fentanyl tablets, with an estimated street value of more than $8 million, according to the governor’s office.

The White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (“HIDTA”) in a report to Congress, noted drug trafficking organizations based in Mexico “continue to traffic and distribute drugs throughout the [Midwest] region, and account for the bulk of smuggling and distribution. The opioid epidemic, which has spread across the Nation, has not left the Midwest untouched.”

Reynolds office said Texas request for assistance came through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, of which Iowa is a member. The compact states, “[Iowa] recognizes that many emergencies transcend political jurisdictional boundaries and that intergovernmental coordination is essential in managing these and other emergencies under this compact.”

The governor’s office said “transnational drug trafficking and mass illegal immigration is the type of emergency that transcends boundaries and requires the states to coordinate in its management.”

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com