Texas is Importing Police from Iowa to Help at the Southern Border

To say there's a lot of political tension at Texas' southern border would be the understatement of the century.

The ongoing immigration crisis has been less of a powder keg and more of a tire fire, and things have only gotten more bitter and complicated in recent weeks. Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump will visit the Texas-Mexico border soon, and Governor Greg Abbott has been collecting private donations to fund an effort to finish "the wall" while taking swipes at VP Harris on social media.

Enter the Iowa State Police.

Rod Boshart with Iowa's The Gazette reports that Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds will deploy 30 State Police officers to the southern border for two weeks in response to requests from Abbott and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey.

According to a statement from Reynolds' office, authorities reported 180,000 border encounters in May, which would be a 20-year high. That included, the governor's office reports,  a 233% increase in fentanyl seizures from the previous year.

This quote was attributed to Reynolds:

“My first responsibility is to the health and safety of Iowans and the humanitarian crisis at our nation’s southern border is affecting all 50 states. The rise in drugs, human trafficking, and violent crime has become unsustainable. Iowa has no choice but to act, and it’s why I am honoring Texas’ Emergency Management Assistance Compact following assurances from the Iowa Department of Public Safety that it will not compromise our ability to provide all necessary public safety services to Iowans.”

Living in Texas, you can sometimes feel like we're in our own world, but things that happen here, particularly along the border, can have a ripple effect.

Still, the timing of this is something to consider as well. Abbott is making border security a top issue ahead of the 2022 gubernatorial race, and has the support of the Donald. He's looking to lock horns with VP Harris on this issue, and she's mired in controversy after visiting Central America to address the conditions there before visiting the border here in the U.S.

There's definitely an optics showdown going on here, and it makes you wonder how much will actually get done to solve the border crisis with all this bickering and posturing going on.