Senator Charles Grassley (R) believes Governor Kim Reynolds has put Iowans first in the state’s decision to decline the federal government’s request to accept migrant children from the U.S.-Mexico border.

This comment comes as U.S. Customs and Border Protection saw a 100% increase in unaccompanied children at the southwest border from February to March at 18,890. While unaccompanied children account for less than 11 percent of encounters in March, they make up the largest demographic group for those in custody at CBP facilities. Senator Grassley stands by a recent comment made that Iowa does not have the resources to “babysit” these migrants. Grassley says the border needs to be “secured,” pointing out that President Joe Biden halted the construction of a border wall with Mexico, “I saw the wall and walls do work. They not only work in the United States, they work in other countries where they have successfully used them. Then another thing would be if they had followed the advice of the border patrol and made sure that they were doing their job of securing the border.”

Grassley also wishes that Senate Democrats would confirm his request to hold a hearing on the border crisis. The CBP has stated that the increase in encounters is not new, and that they have continued to increase since April of last year. Reasons cited for this increase over the past year include violence, natural disasters, food insecurity, and poverty in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Central America. You can hear more from Grassley during a two-part Halcyon House Washington Page on air and at kciiradio.com.