The clear charge of the federal government in the Constitution is the protection of the American people.
To that end, we must provide our military and law enforcement officials with the tools they need, and we must secure our borders in order to ensure that anyone entering our country is doing so in accordance with the law.
In addition to preventing illegal immigration, law enforcement personnel stationed on our borders confront drug smuggling, human trafficking, and the threat of terrorism on a day-to-day basis, and we must ensure they have the support they need to carry out their duties. More must be done to fully secure our borders and ensure the integrity of our immigration system, prevent the exploitation of children, protect our nation against terrorism, and stop illegal drugs from pouring into Iowa.
I’ve continued working to pass my bill Sarah’s Law to require federal law enforcement to detain illegal immigrants criminally charged with killing or seriously injuring another person. The bill is named after an Iowan, Sarah Root, who was killed by an illegal immigrant who was released by federal law enforcement due to a loophole in the law and never faced justice.
I’ve also worked with my colleagues, including Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), on a commonsense immigration reform bill that provides more support for physical and virtual fencing, radar, and other technologies and provided legal certainty for undocumented children brought to the United States by their parents. The bill also supports additional personnel for border control and ended key loopholes in current law that allow dangerous criminals to enter our country.
In addition, as the crisis at our southern border continues to get worse, I’ve called for a measure to deport and block those seeking to enter the U.S. who have been convicted of sexual violent crimes or sexual assault.
I will keep working to find smart solutions to modernize the immigration system, secure our borders, and combat those seeking to exploit our laws.
