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Grassley and Ernst among senators offering Trump’s immigration plan as a bill

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Senator Ernst

The two Republicans who represent Iowa in the United States Senate are co-sponsoring a bill that mirrors President Trump’s immigration plan. It includes $25 billion for border security as well as a path to U.S. citizenship for the 1.8 million people who applied for or were qualified for President Obama’s DACA program.

Senator Chuck Grassley describes it as the only plan out there that can pass the House and that Trump will sign into law.

“It provides a compassionate solution to those who were illegally brought here as children through no fault of their own and it includes a very generous opportunity for citizenship,” Grassley said tonight during a news conference in Washington, D.C.

Senator Joni Ernst said the legislation addresses the “unique challenges” of DACA recipients.

“In Iowa and across the nation, DACA recipients are a very, very special part of our community,” Ernst said. “They are our neighbors. I’ve heard from many young individuals who say: ‘They are our classmates,’ and, of course, there are those that go to church with us.”

Five other Republican senators are co-sponsoring the bill. Grassley, who is the plan’s lead sponsor, called it a “reasonable” approach to an issue that has divided Democrats and Republicans for years.

“If our colleagues are serious about actually finding a real and permanent solution to the DACA crisis, they should be ready and willing to support this compromise,” Grassley said.

Ernst recounted a conversation she had at the Clay County Fair with a DACA recipient who wants to join the Iowa National Guard.

“And she said: “I met with a recruiter months ago and they told me I could not serve…This is the only country that I have known and I love this country,'” Ernst said. “And it’s for folks like her that I’m working hard to make sure that we find a pathway forward.”

The legislation would put new limits on family-based immigration and it would boost the penalty for illegally re-entering the country after being deported. It also calls for a mandatory “E-verify” system businesses would have to check to confirm employees are citizens or legal residents.

Reynolds says sanctuary cities are a public safety concern

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Governor Kim Reynolds

Governor Kim Reynolds is “strongly opposed” to any Iowa city declaring itself a “sanctuary” in an effort to shield undocumented immigrants from deportation.

“One of my top, number one priorities to make sure that Iowans are safe and so, by doing that, I think we need to honor the laws that are on the books and if they’ve made a decision to break the law, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say we need to bring the federal government in and have them follow through with the laws that are on the books,” Reynolds told reporters this morning.

AUDIO of Reynolds’ weekly news conference, 28:00

Earlier this month, Reynolds sent a campaign fundraising email that criticized Des Moines and Iowa City for moving “closer to being sanctuary cities.”

“Because I don’t believe it’s right,” Reynolds said today when asked why she sent the email about sanctuary cities.

The police chiefs from Storm Lake, Marshalltown, Iowa City and Des Moines told legislators last week there are no sanctuary cities in Iowa.

In her fundraising email, Reynolds, in the fundraising email, praised “Republican leaders in the Iowa Legislature” for “taking action” and drafting a bill that would deny state funds to “sanctuary” cities in Iowa. And Reynolds asked her supporters to “stand with the rule of law” by making a donation to her campaign and sending a message “to far-left liberals in Des Moines and Iowa City on this important issue.”

“If an individual has come here illegally and they have made a choice to break the law, then they should be held accountable,” Reynolds told reporters this morning.

President Trump has outlined a plan that calls for enhanced border security, reducing legal immigration and addressing the status of the so-called “Dreamers”. Reynolds today calls that a “great place” for congress to start its deliberations.

“My challenge is for them to sit down, hash through the differences, find consensus and let’s provide certainty for many, many young people who were brought her through no choice of their own,” Reynolds said.

The U.S. Senate is scheduled to begin debating immigration this evening. Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst announced Sunday night they are co-sponsoring a proposal that would spend 25 billion dollars on border security and provide legal status to 1.8 million people who have or could have signed up for President Obama’s DACA protections.

Steve King says Trump’s immigration offer ‘falls far short’

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Congressman Steve King.

President Trump outlined what he called “vital reform” of the nation’s immigration laws during his “State of the Union” speech last night, but Republican Congressman Steve King is skeptical.

“The president said he wants to solve this immigration issue once and for all,” King said, “but I think even his proposal falls far short.”

King said he doubts there’s enough GOP support in the House for a key component of Trump’s plan. King is opposed to citizenship for the one-point-eight million people who’d qualify for the DACA program because they were brought into the country illegally when they were children.

“Amnesty is something that just sacrifices the rule of law and he said also a path to citizenship over 12 years for them,” King said during an interview with Radio Iowa after the president’s speech. “I was watching the crowd, as I do, and it’s most instructive. The Republicans didn’t seem very enthusiastic about a path to citizenship.”

And King said it didn’t appear to him Democrats were that enthusiastic about Trump’s offer either. King predicted the “trade” Trump is offering for DACA recipients won’t secure enough Democratic votes for the entire package to make up for lost GOP votes.

“I think that he’s not thought this through,” King said, “or he’s got a different equation and it works different than mine does.”

King wants a wall along the southern border and tougher enforcement of current immigration laws, plus King would vote to end so-called “chain migration,” something that is part of the president’s plan. Other members of Iowa’s congressional delegation are signalling they’re open to an immigration bill that would offer some sort of legal status to the so-called “Dreamers” who arrived illegally in the U.S. when they were children. Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, said Trump’s proposals on immigration are a “starting point.”

“He has given congress direction, but that is not the final word,” Ernst told Radio Iowa last night.

Congressman Rod Blum, a Republican from Dubuque, would like to vote for a bill that includes a fix for DACA recipients along with changes in the legal immigration system and a requirement that businesses use an electronic verification system to ensure all employees are legal residents or citizens of the U.S.

“If wishes were fishes and I could have things my way,” Blum said, with a laugh, “we would just do the entire immigration system reform. As long as we’re doing this, let’s do the whole thing. I’m not sure that we will get to that point.”

Dave Loebsack of Iowa City, the only Democrat in Iowa’s congressional delegation, expressed optimism the two parties can find a way to strike a deal on immigration.

“I’m just hoping that in the next week, two weeks, three weeks perhaps, we’re going to get to where we probably were in ’13. You know the Senate did pass a bipartisan immigration reform proposal (in 2013),” Loebsack told Radio Iowa. “…There are several bipartisan bills out there right now.”

Congressman David Young, a Republican from Van Meter, said finding something that can pass muster in both the Senate and House won’t be easy.

“But I think it is a priority by both sides of the aisle to make sure that there’s not just a deal in the end for the deal’s sake, but there’s actually a real solution to this issue,” Young said.

And Young predicted any successful deal will have to include all the components or “pillars” to immigration reform that Trump outlined in his speech last night.

(Photo courtesy of Congressman King’s office)

Long, emotional capitol hearing held on sanctuary cities crackdown

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Lawmakers hold a hearing on the sanctuary city bill.

There was a packed hearing today at the statehouse for a bill that would withhold state funds from cities and counties that fail to cooperate with federal immigration agents and keep a person in jail for expected deportation.

A handful of police chiefs, including Marshalltown’s Michael Tupper, spoke in opposition.

“I think we’re trying to solve a problem that does not exist in Iowa,” Tupper said. “I’m not aware of any communities in Iowa that do not cooperate with the federal government or their law enforcement partners.”

Tupper told legislators the bill will create fear among immigrants and make it harder to prevent and investigate crimes. Storm Lake Police Chief Mark Prosser opposes the bill, too.

“Just the peripheral conversations, the rumors and so on spread a wave of fear in our communities that greatly impact our ability to create, maintain and grow relationships,” Prosser said. “In my community of 30 to 35 different ethnic groups in a community of about 12,000 to 13,000 people…those relationships are imperative that we are partners in crime prevention, that folks are not afraid to report crimes when they’ve been victimized.”

Marshalltown Police Chief Michael Tupper testifies.

The subcommittee hearing for public comment on the bill lasted more than an hour. Karl Schilling, an officer with the Des Moines chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens, suggested inaction on immigration reform at the federal level was the root cause of the dispute.

“What we really need is a rational immigration policy and we should all work for that instead of something that will intimidate people and keep them from coming to the police when they’re victimized,” Schilling said.

Alexa Rodriguez, the first person to speak, told legislators she was a high school student who opposed the bill.

“Relationships between local police and immigrants who are already terrified and terrorized are going to be broken,” she said, “and that people like me whether we know it’s right or wrong.”

A year ago, the city council in Iowa City adopted a resolution stating that unless there’s a public safety threat, no city resources will be used to enforce federal immigration laws. Iowa City Police Chief Jody Matherly told legislators that doesn’t mean federal immigration officials are prevented from picking up suspects who’re under arrest in Iowa City.

“We just had it happen last week,” Matherly said. “A person was lodged in the jail because of us and the next day ICE picked them up. That notification system exists and they deal with that. It’s timely. It’s accurate and the system takes place, but we’re not the ones doing that, nor should we be.”

Representative Greg Heartsill, a Republican from Columbia, said that resolution in Iowa City and actions in other cities are what’s prompted this bill.

“You’re right, we have poor immigration policy, but at the same time we’re not going to make this situation any better by local municipalities continuing to thumb their nose at the federal government,” Heartsill said. “It’s not o.k. for when cities and counties tell their local law enforcement to look the other way or to stand down or to show contempt for the rule of law.”

The bill cleared the Iowa Senate last year and today is cleared a House subcommittee. Representative Steven Holt, a Republican from Denison, said he finds “no compelling reason” the bill shouldn’t become law.

“No Iowan should be harmed because someone is in this country illegally, could have been deported through cooperation with immigration authorities, but instead was released back into the community as has happened numerous times across our nation,” Holt said. “…I am saddened that certain communities appear to be putting ideology above the rule of law and political coorectness ahead of the safety of its citizens, but they are and that is why this legislation is necessary.”

City and county officials told legislators holding someone in jail indefinitely without a warrant could invite lawsuits. Holt — the bill’s manager in the House — is considering adjusting the legislation to ensure federal immigration officials provide a warrant when they expect to pick someone up in an Iowa jail for deportation.

Iowa mayor discusses issues at national conference

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Dubuque Mayor Roy Buol

The leaders of at least three Iowa cities are in the nation’s capitol for the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The mayors of Davenport, Des Moines and Dubuque are attending the event.

Dubuque Mayor Roy Buol says one primary focus of discussion is about the Trump administration proposal to create jobs and improve our communities through a massive road and bridge construction proposition.

“We’re hopeful that this year, there’ll be some real action taken on that,” Buol says. “It’s a $5-trillion deferred need so we’re looking, hopefully, at some significant dollars that’ll be put into infrastructure.” Along with infrastructure improvements comes the need to be best prepared for severe weather issues, having everything from storm sewers to floodwalls in top working order. “Climate change is a major concern for every mayor and council in this country,” Buol says, and that’s another key topic being addressed.

“Depending on where you are, the effects are different, but especially in coastal cities where we’re having hurricanes and sea rise and flooding from rain events across the country,” he says, “just catastrophic weather situations.” The Trump administration lashed out at so-called sanctuary cities this week, communities that vow to protect immigrants in the country illegally from being deported. Federal officials are seeking documentation on whether local police and sheriff’s departments are hiding actions from U-S immigration officials — which is against the law.

Buol says Dubuque is trying to show itself as a “welcoming community.” “We’re definitely not going to be doing anything illegal but we’re trying to make a community of choice,” Buol says. “When you look at immigration from a city position, it’s really something that is critical to the future success, not only of Dubuque, Iowa, but of every city in this country.” He says it’s no coincidence that immigration is a hot-button issue at the same time communities across the country are struggling to find workers as thousands of jobs are going unfilled.

“One of the ways that is going to be remediated is through immigration,” he says. “People come to this country, like they always have, that have skills and education and they’re looking for a better life. They’re the people cities are looking to to help fill these jobs.”

The summit opened in Washington D.C. on Wednesday and concludes later today. Buol is among 250 mayors from across the country at the conference.

Congressman King seeks citizenship question on U.S. Census form

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Congressman Steve King. (file photo)

Republican Congressman Steve King says census-takers in 2020 should ask if people living in the United States are citizens.

“We need to be counting citizens instead of people for the purposes of redistricting,” King says. “That’s going to take at a minimum a statute and it may take a constitutional amendment and so in this upcoming Census, I want to count separately the citizens separate from the non-citizens, the lawfully present Americans separate from the illegal aliens that are here so that America can see how bad this is.”

King says if the Census is conducted as he proposes, Iowa would gain a congressional seat from a state like California.

“In districts like Maxine Waters, who only needs about 40,000 votes to get reelected in her district and it takes me over 120,000 in mine because hers is loaded with illegals and mine only has a few,” King says.

The Justice Department has asked the U.S. Census Bureau to put a citizenship question on the 2020 Census forms, to calculate “the voting-age population” in areas “where voting rights violations are alleged or suspected.” Critics say the question will make it harder to count minorities and immigrants.

The U.S. Census Bureau’s website credits the nation’s founders for planning to “count every person living in the newly-created United States of America and to use that count to determine representation in Congress.” U.S. Supreme Court rulings have upheld the power of congress to direct census-takers to collect other data.

The first Census was conducted in 1790 and has been done every 10 years since.

Congressman King urges President Trump to end DACA now (video)

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Congressman Steve King.

Republican Congressman Steve King says he had a “healthy conversation” with President Trump last night about the Obama-era “DACA” program. The program has granted temporary legal status to young adults brought into the country illegally when they were children.

“President Trump said on the day that he announced his campaign for the presidency which was June 16th of 2015 that he would end DACA on his first day,” King says. “We expected that would happen on January 20th…so this concerns me a great deal.”

King says he’s upset that the “inertia” of the program continues. King is urging the president to resist any kind of deal with congress that would give new legal status to DACA recipients if congress approves enhanced border security and provides money to hire dozens more agents, prosecutors and judges to handle immigration cases.

“I believe that the president is negotiating against himself,” King says. “He served up DACA and said: “Here it is, congress. You take DACA and solve that problem. Meanwhile, I’m not going to sign a DACA bill…unless I get some of these things or maybe even many of these things.'”

King has long been a critic of what he calls “amnesty” for anyone who came into the country illegally. King is also urging Trump to do something about granting automatic U.S. citizenship to babies born on American soil to foreign mothers.

“We can’t be handing out citizenship like candy to the new mothers who are moving into America temporarily to have their babies, take their birth certificate and their baby and go back to China or wherever they come from,” King says. “There is an entire industry created over birthright citizenship.”

King made his comments in a video statement posted online and he ended by speaking directly to Trump.

“You’re a president that’s on the path of being able to keep every single campaign promise. You’ve kept many of them. It’s a long list and those of us who have supported are exhilarated at the progress that’s been made, but right now there are only two of them out there that aren’t actually being kept. One of them is to end and repeal ObamaCare and that’s not your fault, at least not in a big way, because congress couldn’t get this done so far,” King said. “But when it comes to DACA, you can do that with a stroke of a pen.”

In a written statement, King used the word “constructive” to describe his phone conversation with Trump.

King is in the middle of his eighth term in the U.S. House. One Republican and four Democrats are campaigning for the chance to challenge his bid for reelection in 2018.

Reynolds ‘strongly’ disagrees with King’s diversity tweet, but he remains campaign co-chair

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Governor Kim Reynolds.

Governor Kim Reynolds today said she’s not going to get “involved in a Twitter war” over two controversial tweets Congressman Steve King sent this weekend.

King tweeted that “diversity is not our strength,” but “assimilation” is. King’s commentary drew more than 20,000 retweets and comments on Twitter. The chairman of the Iowa Republican Party chimed in Sunday, tweeting a quote from Ronald Reagan about the contributions “magnificent diversity” make to the country. Reynolds told reporters today she “completely” disagrees with what King said.

“I believe that diversity has made this state and this country stronger and so I completely disagree with what he said,” Reynolds said during her weekly news conference.

But Reynolds has no intention of kicking King out of his role as a co-chair of her 2018 reelection campaign.

“I have a lot co-chairs that have signed up to participate in our campaign. I am so proud to have Senator Grassley and Senator Ernst and Congressman Blum as well as a host of individuals across this state. I’m not going to agree with everything that they have to say and I can certainly make it known when I don’t agree with a comment that they made,” Reynolds said, rapping the lectern with her hand to emphasize that last phase, “but I also want to be able to work with them on really important issues for Iowans.”

Reynolds said her priority is helping Iowa workers, including those in “ethnic communities,” gain new skills so they can fill that thousands of jobs that are unfilled in Iowa today.

“That’s what I’m focused on. I am not going to get sidetracked with a comment that I disagree with. I’ve made that clear,” Reynolds told reporters, before adding emphatically: “I disagree with what he said.”

Reynolds added that she has 3500 other campaign co-chairs at this point.

On Saturday, King retweeted a quote from Hungary’s prime minister, who said: “Mixing cultures will not lead to a higher quality of life, but a lower one.” King then added that “assimilation, not diversity, is our American strength.” King’s comment drew hundreds of negative responses on twitter.

Congressman King: Border wall prototypes too tall, too expensive

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Cong. Steve King

Republican Congressman Steve King was in California last week to see prototypes for the wall along the southern border.

“I thought the prototypes were pretty fancy and I thought that they were expensive,” King told Radio Iowa.

King, a former contractor, praised the workmanship, but King said the 30-foot-tall sections are not “conducive” to a construction zone that will be hundreds of miles long.

“The top 15 feet costs more than the bottom 15 feet because you have to build the structure into the foundation that’ll stand up against the wind loads and all of the other forces that are out there,” King said. “I’d say instead: ‘Let’s bring a 15-foot wall, put some wire on top and we can build it a lot cheaper and a lot faster,’ but none of these designs are conducive to an effective construction that can build, say, a mile a day.”

Congress has not yet approved funding for completing a wall along the southern U.S. border, but six construction firms were chosen in August to build eight examples of what they would erect if chosen to build the barrier. King has asked for a meeting with President Trump to discuss his concerns about the prototypes.

“I’m glad the prototypes are up. The workmanship is terrific. The people are following through on their contracts, but I have a different view on how expansive this should be,” King said. “A 30-foot wall is excessive, in my view.”

The government is spending $20 million on the prototypes. Erecting a wall along the southern border was one of the primary promises Trump made during the 2016 campaign. King has been calling on Trump to appoint someone to oversee the project.

“I want somebody that’s looked at the plans, that understands the costs and knows the terrain, that can do the acquisition and understands the politics of trying to get it funded,” King said.

There’s some discussion of linking funding for enhanced border security with providing some sort of legal status to young adults who were children when their parents brought them into the country illegally. However, Democrats in congress and some Republicans oppose more construction of permanent barriers along the southern border.

Grassley satisfied Trump didn’t make immigration deal with Democrats

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Senator Chuck Grassley

Senator Chuck Grassley says he’s been reassured that President Trump did not strike a deal with Democrats that would protect young immigrants from deportation, without funding a wall along the southern border.

Early this morning, Grassley tweeted after reports that Trump and the top two Democrats in congress had come to an agreement on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Grassley tweeted that the reported deal “undercut” his bipartisan work in the Senate Judiciary Committee. A few hours later, Grassley told reporters in Washington, D.C. that President Trump’s tweets on the topic came later than his own and Grassley said he was “satisfied” Trump had not made a deal.

Congressman Steve King has been on Twitter, too, expressing his opposition to providing what he calls “amnesty” for adults brought into the country illegally when they were children. During an interview on CNN today, King said Trump made a “no amnesty” promise during the 2016 campaign.

“But it looks to me that he’s preparing to keep Hillary Clinton’s campaign promise rather than his own,” King told CNN.

And King warned Trump’s base would not support the president if Trump wavers on this issue. Trump tweeted today that any deal with include “BIG border security,” but Trump also said in a tweet that the so-called DREAMers “good, educated, accomplished people” who came into the country illegally “through no fault of their own.”