Des Moines, Iowa — Governor Kim Reynolds says her trip to Texas with nine other Republican governors has given her a better understanding of the escalating humanitarian and security crisis caused by illegal border crossings.
Reynolds was in McAllen, Texas, when she spoke with Iowa reporters by phone Wednesday afternoon.
The ten governors are calling for a surge in federal agents along the border.
In July, Reynolds sent more than two dozen Iowa troopers to Texas and she’s not ruling out another deployment if the Republican governor of Texas again asks states for assistance at the border.
The governors are also calling on the Biden Administration be more transparent when migrants detained at the border are sent elsewhere. Reynolds says state officials were not notified when a flight carrying 19 unaccompanied girls landed at the Des Moines airport late one night in April.
Leaders of the Iowa Democratic Party’s Latinx Caucus called on Reynolds to welcome those seeking a new home. The Iowa Democratic Party’s chairman says the governor’s trip was a political stunt meant to detract from her own record.
Reynolds says fentanyl seizures have jumped dramatically in Texas and the illegal narcotic is being added to drugs like marijuana and opioid pills, leading to overdose deaths.
The Republican Governors Public Policy Committee covered transportation costs for the group. The State of Iowa is paying about 500 dollars for lodging in Texas for Reynolds and her staff.
