Edited release
08/03/23
Governor Kim Reynolds has announced that 109 soldiers from the Iowa National Guard have deployed to Texas in support of Operation Lone Star to help secure the U.S. Southern Border following the end of Title 42.
According to a release from the Governor’s office, the deployment will last until September 1st, with the mission of deterring illegal border crossings and preventing the trafficking of illegal substances by cartels through Texas. This is the Guard’s third deployment to the U.S. southern border since 2020, but the first pursuant to a state mission.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety will then deploy Iowa State Patrol officers on August 31st through October 2nd to support Texas State Troopers with criminal interdiction, crime prevention, traffic enforcement, and law enforcement assistance.
An investigative team will also support Texas investigations of narcotics, weapons, and human trafficking.
The Governor’s office indicates all costs will be covered by federal funding allocated to Iowa from the American Rescue Plan.
In her statement about the deployments, Governor Reynolds says that since President Biden was elected, the country has experienced a historic rise in illegal immigrants and illicit drugs entering the country, and claimed that now, every state is a border state.
She also accused the Biden Administration of creating one of the most significant national security and humanitarian crises of our generation.
The deployment of Iowa National Guard and Iowa State Patrol personnel are at the request of the state of Texas and Governor Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star.