Iowa officials describe border security efforts during recent $2 million deployment

DES MOINES — Leaders from the Iowa National Guard and Iowa Department of Public Safety described the actions of their troops and officers in an effort to assist Texas officials conduct security operations at the U.S.-Mexico border during a recent deployment there.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds praised those state troops and officers for their work in Texas, and excoriated President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.

Reynolds and state officials hosted a news conference Wednesday at the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s offices to describe the efforts and experiences of state troopers and officers during separate, roughly one-month deployments in August and September.

Reynolds authorized the deployments in response to a request from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and all troops and officers deployed volunteered for the mission, state officials said. Iowa sent 109 National Guard troops to Texas from Aug. 2 through Sept. 1, and 31 Department of Public Safety officers from Sept. 1 through Oct. 2.

“Texas has been fighting this on their own for a long time. Our soldiers volunteered because they believe they’re contributing to the safety to the security not just of Texas or those border communities, but the United States. And that’s what they’ve sworn to protect and defend,” Major General Stephen Osborn, Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard, told reporters. “I believe the individual soldiers … feel like they’re serving their country in trying to make America safe. Whether we contributed or not, I think the statistics show that we did.”

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Iowa National Guard troops, according to state officials, worked with Texas troops and officers to detect and apprehend transnational criminals and deter illegal migration. According to the state, with Iowa National Guard troops’ assistance, 1,700 undocumented immigrants were apprehended by Customs and Border Patrol and another 1,241 surrendered.

According to state officials, during this deployment Iowa Public Safety officers primarily worked on human smuggling investigations. According to the state, officers were “directly involved” in 40 human smuggling cases, 11 drug trafficking cases, 14 narcotics arrests, six weapons arrests, 42 vehicle pursuits, 35 vehicle bail outs, 11 stolen vehicle recoveries, and turning over 491 undocumented immigrants to federal Customs and Border Patrol agents.

“We were given a small piece of the puzzle. We were given a couple of holes to plug. We plugged those holes while we were there,” Iowa State Patrol Captain Mark Miller said during the news conference. “They strategically put us where they needed us during the time frame. We were there to solve a problem in that location, so we could stop the smuggling problems that were happening there or reduce them a little bit. … So yes, we did make an impact.”

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

The total cost to cover the most recent deployments was just shy of $2 million, the governor’s office said. The office used federal pandemic relief funds to cover the cost.

“Since the president and his administration have refused to rescue America’s borders, we have done our part on their behalf,” Reynolds said during the news conference.

Reynolds praised the efforts of Iowa’s troops and officers, and levied harsh criticism of President Joe Biden’s administration and immigration policy, calling it an “open borders” policy. She said Iowans are placed in harm’s way by illegal immigration in the form of the trafficking of humans and illegal drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine.

“They’re releasing (undocumented immigrants) into the country and again we have no notice of that. They’re given a phone, they’re given some money, they’re told to come back in what, five, six, eight years to go through the process. So they’re not stopping at the border. They’re not going back. That’s what previous policies did. …

“It is an open border policy. There’s not another country in the world that would allow this to happen. We have one of the best immigration policies in the country. We welcome legal immigration into this country. It’s what were founded on. This is not that.”

A regional media contact for the White House did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

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