DES MOINES, Iowa — Three more people hoping to become the next Commander-in-Chief sat down with Gov. Kim Reynolds on Tuesday at the Iowa State Fair.
First up was former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Reynolds asked him what he'd do to curb drugs coming over the southern border.
"One, we go after the supply. And secondly, you go after the addiction issues that we face in America," Hutchinson said. "It is the cartels that are bringing the human suffering into our country through their very human trafficking. And then they're also bringing in fentanyl and, and that goes all across the country. And so you have to increase your border resources, you have to build greater infrastructure. I was head of the charge of border security during the Bush administration. We didn't get it perfect, but it looks perfect compared to what we see today. And so I know what needs to be done. You put the resources there, you reform our asylum laws and you designate the cartels at full as foreign terrorist organizations. That is critical. "
Next up was Texas businessman and pastor, Ryan Binkley. He fielded a similar question from Iowa's governor.
"Our act is called the Security and Dignity Act which falls in line with Representative Maria Salazar from Florida," Binkley said. "I went met with her in D.C. She's promoted this Dignity Act, which is amazing because what it does, it provides funds, secures the border from coast to coast with barriers, technology towers, people ... $30 billion. This Dignity Act does not leave any room for people to come in the last five years, they have to go. But actually people that have been here the longest, name the number, seven, eight, nine, 10, 20 years or longer, it allows them to come out of the shadows, have work, registration, legal work. It's not amnesty, they have to pay a fine if they committed a crime by crossing the border."
Finally, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott also discussed his border vision with Reynolds.
"The first thing we have to do is use common sense, which means finish the border wall," he said. "Number two, we have to crush the cartels. They are the ones that are taking the precursors from China, developing fentanyl in Mexican labs, and then they are bringing it across our southern border and our ports of entry. We have the available military-grade technology to stop the fentanyl flow across our borders."
The Fair-Side Chats conclude on Friday with businessman Perry Johnson and former Texas Congressman Will Hurd.