OSCEOLA, Iowa — Osceola resident Vielka Rivera Wambold has been on a mission to change lives.
Wambold works with various advocacy groups, such as Witness at the Border and Grannies Respond, to help people that are crossing into the U.S. and seeking asylum.
"What you’re seeing is people. you know, many mothers and children, of all ages … many stories of survival," Wambold said.
Last week, Wambold returned to Iowa from the Texas-Mexico border. It was her fifth visit since 2020.
"I come home and I have to hang my head a little bit, and I do get emotional," Wambold said. "I haven't met anybody yet who has done this work that doesn't come back changed."
Several of the people she has met during her trips to the border want to come to Iowa, but don't know how. Wambold and other advocates for asylum seekers wants Iowans to know that immigrants are vital members of the state’s workforce.
"There's a lot about Iowa that reminds them of home. It's the values that Iowans used to be known for, those kinds of hard-working values [...] that's what they're looking for over here," she said, adding that they aim to contribute to "Iowan society and culture."
Gov. Kim Reynolds held a press conference on the return of more than 100 Iowa National Guard soldiers who went to the U.S. border as part of Operation Lone Star. The state used $1.9 million from Iowa's American Rescue Plan funding to pay for the mission.
"For more than two years, Texas has been ground zero for the national security and humanitarian crisis that we see taking place on the southern border," Reynolds said in the press conference. "As governor, I have a responsibility to protect the safety and well being of Iowans. And protecting them at home starts with protecting the southern border."
Even though 1,000 miles separate Iowa from the southern border, Wambold believes it’s still possible to bridge the gap between politics and humanity.
With more trips to the border ahead, she's now challenging people to consider a trip of their own, rather than watching the crisis unfold.
"I challenge anybody, I don't care what faith background, or political belief you are, to go to the border and do some of the work that we have," Wambold told Local 5. "I can promise you, some way, somehow, you come back a little bit changed.”