There is a dangerous public issue growing in the United States that threatens to change the fabric of Iowa as we know and love it.
But first I must state for the record the necessary and honest disclaimer with which I believe almost all of the readers here will agree. America is a nation of immigrants. My great-great grandparents were legal immigrants. Likewise, so were the ancestors of almost everybody in western Iowa. I believe that if anybody from around the world wants to come to Iowa to better their lives, pay their own way, and enter legally with the same amount of scrutiny and data collection that the federal government has on me, they should be allowed. I do not oppose a controlled and regulated immigration system, nor do the people who speak with me about this issue.
The intentional collapse of our southern border by the Biden Administration is matched only by the intentional flooding of Europe by Middle Eastern and African migrants. Paris and other large metropolitan cities in Europe have large areas of lawlessness in which even law enforcement cannot enter.
Just as in Europe, where left-leaning national leaders dropped their defenses to the harm of their own citizens, our own President has answered the United Nations and World Economic Forum call to allow any number of people from any country of origin to enter our country anonymously. We know it is big business, as the illegal aliens are provided transportation, food, and water on their thousand-mile trek. There are even aliens captured crossing our southern border from Africa or Asia! They crossed the two largest oceans on the planet to enter this country as penniless migrants. Some very bad people are getting very rich off the human trafficking operations around the world.
Governor Reynolds has taken a bold stand on this issue. We need to recognize that Biden’s choice to open the border and his plan for America has very real impact in Iowa. Since the beginning of the Biden Administration, seven million illegal migrants, gang members, sex traffickers and their victims, drug cartel members, terrorists, and Chinese spies have entered the country. Two million migrants are waiting for immigration court with a two-year backlog. Two million pounds of drugs, including 30,000 pounds of fentanyl have been captured. 169 terrorists have been captured. The terrorist count must be a tiny percentage of those who entered the country, because that group would be actually trying to hide, not surrender at the border and proclaim refugee status.
The Iowa law enforcement experience is related, but smaller. Because of the actions of the global left, every state is now a border state. Iowa is particularly affected as we have I-29 and I-35 providing a nonstop route from the open border to our homes. In 2023 alone, the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Division of Narcotics Enforcement seized more than 83,000 fentanyl tablets, more than 1,000 pounds of meth, 800 pounds of marijuana, and 165 pounds of cocaine. Twenty-six of the narcotics cases investigated had a direct link to Mexican cartels.
The data within this report come from the governor’s office, and fully justify her bold actions. They also give us an insight into the service of our home-grown law enforcement and military members. Operation Lone Star included a deployment of Iowa military and law enforcement personnel. From August 2 – September 1, 2023, 109 Iowa soldiers were sent to support the State of Texas as Texas Gov. Abbott works to defend his citizens from the intentional failures of the federal government. Our Guard family and friends apprehended nearly 3,000 illegal migrants and turned back many more.
She also deployed Iowa law enforcement to Texas, including State Senator Dan Dawson. He is a detective in the Iowa Department of Public Safety. Firsthand accounts and pictures of the situation make me sick. Our Border Patrol within the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are frustrated. They may be the only 3 letter agency in the federal government that hasn’t been weaponized against the American people by the past two Democrat presidents.
Remember, our US Constitution prohibits using the military for law enforcement, so these crime stats are attributed to law enforcement for processing, but it was a team effort in border defense for the benefit of Iowa. Here are the results:
- 20 troopers, 2 pilots, and 9 special agents deployed Sept. 1 to Oct. 2, 2023
- Nearly 500 illegal migrants turned over to border patrol
- 42 vehicle pursuits and 35 bail-outs
- 40 human smuggling cases
- 11 drug trafficking cases
- 14 narcotics arrests
- 6 weapons arrests
- 11 stolen vehicles recovered
I applaud Governor Kim Reynolds for taking part in defending our national border along with 24 other states who understand what is at stake for our citizens. This was a good use of one-time federal ARPA tax dollars. It used federal money to address the neglect of its constitutional duty. We all should thank our military and law enforcement friends who took time away from their jobs and families to do this important work.
Author: Jason Schultz
State Sen. Jason Schultz served three terms in the House prior to being elected to the Iowa Senate. Schultz served seven years in the National Guard and served as volunteer fire fighter for the Schleswig Volunteer FD for 13 years, two years as the department's chief.
