IN CONGRESS ARE TAKING A STAND AGAINST THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S BORDER POLICIES. THE U.S. BORDER PATROL SAYS IT HAS SEEN BORDER CROSSINGS AND ARRESTS SKYROCKET IN RECENT MONTHS. ANIOD WA IS NOW JOINING AN EFFORT TO PUSH BACK. GOVERNOR REYNOLDS SAYS WHAT HAPPENS AT THE SOUTHERN BORDER IMPACTS CRIME HERE IN IOWA. STAC: EYIOWA IS NOW JOINING 25 OTHER STATES TO FORM THE AMERICAN GOVERNORS’ BORDER STRIKE FOR.CE KCCI’S ANDREW MOLLENBECK TELLS US WHAT THIS GROUP PLANS TO DO. ANDREW: THE GROUP OF REPUBLINCA GOVERNORS IS FOCUSED PRIMARILY ON INFORMATION SHARI.NG THIS STRIKE FORCE DOES NOT INCLUDE PLANS TO SEND IOWANSO T THE SOUTHERN BORDER. THESE REPUBLICAN-LED STATES HAVE ALL SIGNED ON TO THE GROUPS AA WAY OF PUSHING BACAGK AINST WHAT THEY SEE AS THE FAILURES OF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION. LAST MONTH, U.S. OICIALSFF REPORTED ENCOUNTERS WITH MORE THAN 220,000 MIGRANTS CROSSING THE SOUTHERN BORDER. THAT WAS THE HIGHEST FIGURE IN MORE THAN 20 YEARS. THE BORDER STRIKE FORCE SAYS THIS NEW INTELLIGENCE SHARING WILL HELP COMBAT HUMAN SMUGGLING AND DRUG TRAFFICKING. GOV. REYNOLDS SAYS IN A STATEMENT, "FENTANYL AND OERTH MAJOR DRUGS ARE BECONGMI INCREASINGLY PREVALENT IN OUR COMMUNITIES, SO WE MUST STEP UP AND PROTECT OUR STATES." SHE CALLS THE CURRENT BORDER POLICIES DISASTROUS. PROGRESS IOWA ALSO RELEASED A STATEMENT THAT SAYS, IN PA,RT "JUST LAST YEAR, GOV. REYNOLDS SAID A SURGE OF MIGRANTS AT THE BORDER WAS NOT OUR PROBLEMND A REFUSED A REQUEST FOR HELP WITH UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN AT THE BOERRD OF THE 26 STATES INVOLVED IN THE BORDER STRIKE FORCE, JUST TEXAS AND ARIZONA ARE ON THE BORDER. EACH STATE WILL BE RESPONSIBLE TO COVER ITS OWN COS
Iowa joins multi-state southern border strike force
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Updated: 10:18 AM CDT Apr 22, 2022
Iowa has joined a multi-state effort to crack down on crime crossing the southern border.More than half of the country has signed on to the new "American Governors Border Strike Force."The hope is to increase intelligence sharing across state lines to help combat human smuggling and drug trafficking. According to the governor's office, state participation in the Border Strike Force requires no taxpayer funds or enforcement personnel."We can't stand idle while President Biden does nothing to stop the crisis at our border, which is having devastating effects on every state," said Gov. Kim Reynolds in a statement. "President Biden’s disastrous border policies and lack of leadership are destroying our country. Fentanyl and other major drugs are becoming increasingly prevalent in our communities, so we must step up and protect our states, our families, our children, and our country that we’ve worked so hard to keep safe.”The initiative was put together after numbers from the Biden administration showed a surge in border arrests last month.The U.S. Border Patrol arrested 210,000 migrants attempting to cross the southern border in March. That's a 24% increase from March of 2021. It’s also the highest monthly total in two decades. The Biden administration warned migration could rise after U.S. health officials announced a pandemic-era border order is ending by May 23.The following states have joined the Border Strike Force: Arizona, Texas, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. Executive Director of Progress Iowa Matt Sinovic sent the following statement to KCCI regarding the strike force:“Governor Reynolds’ decision to join the American Governors Border Strike Force is her latest effort to distract us from the workforce crisis she created in Iowa as our job growth continues to lag behind national numbers. Just last year, Gov. Reynolds said a surge of migrants at the border was “not our problem" and refused a request for help with unaccompanied children at the border. Then just a few months later, she put the lives of twenty seven Iowa State Troopers on the line by sending them to the southern border. That publicity stunt cost Iowa taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. "By joining this Border Strike Force, Gov. Reynolds and her corporate donors are trying to divide us – by stoking fear against people based on where they come from or what they look like. Iowans need a leader who will address the issues our state is facing, increase jobs and wages and improve access to healthcare. This stunt is pure politics and ignores what Iowa families need while exploiting people in need."Related:
DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa has joined a multi-state effort to crack down on crime crossing the southern border.
More than half of the country has signed on to the new "American Governors Border Strike Force."
The hope is to increase intelligence sharing across state lines to help combat human smuggling and drug trafficking. According to the governor's office, state participation in the Border Strike Force requires no taxpayer funds or enforcement personnel.
"We can't stand idle while President Biden does nothing to stop the crisis at our border, which is having devastating effects on every state," said Gov. Kim Reynolds in a statement. "President Biden’s disastrous border policies and lack of leadership are destroying our country. Fentanyl and other major drugs are becoming increasingly prevalent in our communities, so we must step up and protect our states, our families, our children, and our country that we’ve worked so hard to keep safe.”
The initiative was put together after numbers from the Biden administration showed a surge in border arrests last month.
The U.S. Border Patrol arrested 210,000 migrants attempting to cross the southern border in March. That's a 24% increase from March of 2021. It’s also the highest monthly total in two decades.
The Biden administration warned migration could rise after U.S. health officials announced a pandemic-era border order is ending by May 23.
The following states have joined the Border Strike Force: Arizona, Texas, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Executive Director of Progress Iowa Matt Sinovic sent the following statement to KCCI regarding the strike force:
“Governor Reynolds’ decision to join the American Governors Border Strike Force is her latest effort to distract us from the workforce crisis she created in Iowa as our job growth continues to lag behind national numbers. Just last year, Gov. Reynolds said a surge of migrants at the border was “not our problem" and refused a request for help with unaccompanied children at the border. Then just a few months later, she put the lives of twenty seven Iowa State Troopers on the line by sending them to the southern border. That publicity stunt cost Iowa taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"By joining this Border Strike Force, Gov. Reynolds and her corporate donors are trying to divide us – by stoking fear against people based on where they come from or what they look like. Iowans need a leader who will address the issues our state is facing, increase jobs and wages and improve access to healthcare. This stunt is pure politics and ignores what Iowa families need while exploiting people in need."
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