Nine Republican Governors, including Kim Reynolds of Iowa, visited the U.S.-Mexico border today.
“Joe Biden has done absolutely nothing to confront this self-inflicted crisis,”
Also, in Mission, Texas, Wednesday, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem stayed behind to focus on wildfires hitting the western portion of the state.
The group urged the President to take action against illegal immigration.
During a news conference today, Reynolds also spoke about concerns over unaccompanied children being moved around the country.
She referenced an incident that happened in Iowa in April.
She says the federal government didn’t notify her before flying migrant children into the Des Moines airport, then shuttling them to other cities as part of an effort to join them with relatives.
“What they’re doing after that is secretly transporting them into our states across this country, and Iowa is one of those states.”
Reynolds said that for a month, the Biden Administration denied being responsible for the incident.
Senator Joni Ernst is the lead sponsor of legislation that would make it clear immigrants and refugees seeking asylum should be barred from entering the United States if they have been convicted of a serious sex crime.
Radio Iowa reports under current federal immigration law, those seeking entry into the U.S. may be barred or deported if they have been convicted of an aggravated felony or deviant behavior in another country. Ernst suggests federal law should be more specific.
The U.S. Border Patrol recently announced it had arrested a Guatemalan man in Texas, near the Mexican border, who had been convicted a dozen years ago of a felony sex crime in Buena Vista County, Iowa. The agency said the man had been “properly processed,” but it’s not clear if that means the man was held in U.S. custody or deported.
South Dakota’s reputation as a destination for the wealthy to store billions of dollars in trust funds has long had the blessing of the state Legislature. The state's roll was revealed in detail this week by a massive document trove called the “Pandora Papers." The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists report shows that in addition to the familiar offshore destinations, there were 81 secret accounts set up in South Dakota. The legislature passes an annual bill supporting the industry, following updates by a task force that holds unadvertised meetings to discuss trust laws around the world. South Dakota Public Broadcasting reports there are 105 independent trust companies in the state, as well as state-chartered banks employing about 500 people.
Voters in Vermillion on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a $26 million bond to build a new elementary school.
The Sioux City Journal reports the measure passed with almost 75% approval.
The new school will be added to the current middle school building. The Superintendent says the project has been seven to 8 years in the making.
A record-breaking day for the Siouxland Big Give. The event in its fourth year raised more than $190,000 in 24-hours for local charities. That amount was more than $67,000 raised during last year’s biggest year. About 100 area nonprofits signed up to take part through the Siouxland Community Foundation.
