DES MOINES, Iowa — After traveling to the U.S. southern border over the weekend, Governor Kim Reynolds plans to send state troopers and Iowa National Guard soldiers to Texas once again.
Reynolds was one of 24 Republican governors who joined Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in the border town of Eagle Pass on Sunday. Abbott held a press conference at Shelby Park, which he said is a frequent place for people to illegally cross the Rio Grande.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that individual states do not have the authority to enforce border security and that the task should be left to the federal government. However, both Abbott and Reynolds demand that Texas should be able to defend itself and its borders.
"Iowa has supported Operation Lone Star on three separate missions. Every state is a border state and Iowa is no exception," Reynolds said in a press conference Monday.
Reynolds accused President Biden and his administration of inaction at the border. She went on to introduce plans to send more state troopers and Iowa National Guard soldiers from Iowa to Texas.
"If we want this crisis to end, then we have to help stop it. Because the President won't and hasn't, the federal government won't and hasn't," Reynolds said.
According to Reynolds, migrant crossings surged in December but decreased in January due to the installation of water buoys and razor wire.
While the use of razor wire at the border has temporarily been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, Reynolds continues to defend the tactics.
“These tactics alone that Texas has put in place has resulted in a 79% decrease in traffic in Eagle Pass," she said.