Iowa Department of Public Safety sends 31 officers to U.S.-Mexico border as National Guard returns
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The Iowa Department of Public Safety sent 31 Iowa officers to the U.S.-Mexico border, beginning the second phase of Gov. Kim Reynolds' effort to assist law enforcement in Texas.
"Iowa is located at the intersection of two major interstates, and it is a pathway for the Mexican cartels and for humans traffickers to take to go from Mexico to the Midwest," Reynolds said at a Texas news conference on Aug. 21.
Reynolds sent more than 100 Iowa National Guard soldiers to Texas in early August. For the past month, the soldiers were tasked with "deterring illegal border crossings and preventing the trafficking of illegal substances by cartels," according to a news release from Reynolds' office. Their deployment ended Friday.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety sent 31 Iowa State Patrol officers to Texas on Aug. 31. They will return to Iowa on Oct. 2.
More: A Latino organization responds to Gov. Reynolds' aid to Texas border — with a billboard
Sen. Dan Dawson, R-Council Bluffs, will join the month-long deployment to help with Texas' "Operation Lone Star." Dawson is a leader on Iowa's tax law in the Legislature, and he works as a special agent for the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
“I am looking forward to working with my colleagues and Texas law enforcement to try and address this crisis at the border and help protect our nation’s security," Dawson said in a Friday news release.
The Iowa state troopers will "support Texas State Troopers with criminal interdiction, crime prevention, traffic enforcement and law enforcement assistance," according to an early August news release. Iowa is also sending an investigative team to assist with Texas' investigations of narcotics, weapons and human trafficking.
At the Aug. 21 news conference, Reynolds cited an increase of fentanyl, meth and cocaine seizures in Iowa. She said "the bulk" of those drugs were tied to cartels in Mexico.
Iowa used money from the federal American Rescue Plan Act — a COVID-19 relief package opposed by Republicans — to fund the deployments.
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) of Iowa criticized Reynolds for sending troops to the border. Organizers of the group said Reynolds' deployment was "political grandstanding," and they launched a billboard campaign against her.
LULAC said in a news release that Texas has relied on "unlawful barriers" that slash into migrants. The U.S. Department of Justice told Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that it intends to file suit over a floating barrier erected in the Rio Grande River.
This isn't the first time Reynolds sent Iowa personnel to the border.
In 2021, Reynolds deployed about 28 Iowa State Patrol troopers to the border for 14 days in the Del Rio area in southwest Texas, where they accompanied Texas law enforcement on patrols, assisted with humanitarian efforts, helped disrupt criminal networks and investigated human smuggling, officials said at the time.
That mission cost roughly $300,000, and was paid for by the state of Iowa.
Stephen Gruber-Miller and Amanda Tugade contributed reporting.
Katie Akin is a politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at kakin@registermedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @katie_akin.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa sends 31 officers for second phase of deployment to U.S.-Mexico border
