EAGLE PASS, Texas — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds joined other Republican governors in southern Texas on Monday, Aug. 21 to talk about U.S.-Mexico border safety.
Reynolds spoke briefly at the press conference, blaming the Biden administration's border security for an influx of fentanyl, meth and other illicit drugs in Iowa.
Reynolds also thanked Texas for their initiative and work at the border.
"Texas has been ground zero for over two years because of the Biden created catastrophe that we see at the southern border. Whether it's national security, public safety or just an assault on our democracy, you have been front and center through all of that," Reynolds said.
However, Latin American and immigration rights advocates say the governor's visit is simply a political stunt.
"The governor of Iowa needs to be talking to the businessmen and women in, especially, the agriculture industry in Iowa. Who do you think works in those meat packing plants? Who do you think works in those fields out there whether it's corn and agriculture? Majority of [them are] Latino workers, many of them undocumented," said Domingo Garcia, the National President of the League of United Latin American Citizens.
There are currently 109 Iowa National Guard soldiers stationed at the southern border, bringing the total to over 1,600 soldiers total. Later this month, 30 Iowa State Patrol officers will join them.
Reynolds emphasized that this is an issue that impacts Iowa.
"But let me tell you, Iowa is located at the intersection of two major interstates, and it is a pathway for the Mexican cartel and for human traffickers to take, to go from Mexico to the Midwest," Reynolds said.
However, advocates disagree, saying Iowa's attention on the U.S. Mexico border is a waste of taxpayer dollars.
"Things need to change. We're a country of immigrants, we've always been a country of immigrants, we need to embrace that. So, I would hope that our governor, along with these other governors who have a political agenda right now, push for comprehensive immigration reform, make it bipartisan so that we can solve these issues in a legal, congressional way," said Joe Enriquez Henry, the state political director of LULAC Iowa.
Advocates say they plan to continue making their voices heard in the coming days to oppose this movement from the governor.