Editorials: Tough talk

Iowa’s Kim Reynolds joined 25 other Republican governors last week to declare that they will use the National Guard and local law enforcement to ship out immigrants. It’s dishonest but that’s politics, we suppose. Republicans talk tough, but it is all a bunch of smoke.

For example: An Iowa law forcing local law enforcement to round up immigrants was struck down by federal Judge Stephen Locher in April. Like jurists before, he ruled that immigration and border control are the exclusive province of the federal government. So, no, the Iowa governor cannot pledge local law enforcement to arrest immigrants (at least, not as long as we respect a judge’s ruling). We don’t understand how the governor would use the Iowa Guard to terrorize immigrants. It is doubtful that she will.

President Trump and Gov. Reynolds (and Kristi Noem of South Dakota, the nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security) agreed during the pandemic that immigrants in meatpacking plants are “essential” workers. They tacitly acknowledged that we cannot get along without help from Latin American immigrants, documented or not.

Likewise, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, told us recently that Storm Lake need not worry about big raids, because, you know, they want to deal with the criminals first. Wink, wink.

Here is what the Republican governors said in their statement:

“Republican governors remain fully committed to supporting the Trump Administration’s efforts to deport dangerous criminals, gang members, and terrorists who are in this country illegally.

"We understand the direct threat these criminal illegal immigrants pose to public safety and our national security, and we will do everything in our power to assist in removing them from our communities.”

Note the emphasis on “criminals, gang members and terrorists.”

Even Mexicans here voted for Donald Trump because they don’t believe he will deport their relatives in Storm Lake. Neither does Ernst. Reynolds made sure they reported to work during the pandemic to avoid a food crisis.

It’s very likely that the folks who voted to deport all those immigrants have been had. Do we actually expect Kristi Noem to deport the labor force for South Dakota dairy producers or meatpackers? They’re all hat, no cattle, and we are suckers.

MEANWHILE, BACK ON THE ranch, Iowa state revenue is expected to fall $600 million this year, according to the governor’s own budget director. If you are watching for the Mexicans, you are not watching the state budget. They say that there is nothing to see here, that we can absorb that revenue reduction without public education suffering, or college tuition rising, or more nursing homes closing. If you believe that, you might believe we will deport more than 10 million immigrants.

Gagging Steve King?

Former Rep. Steve King said that he has been told by the folks associated with the Summit carbon pipeline to pipe down. King and others have received letters from lawyers threatening to sue if they persist in alleged defamatory statements about the pipeline. It’s like a letter dropping from heaven for King.

"These are just simply threats that say, 'Shut up or we'll sue you because we don't like the truth and what it does to damage our business model,'" King told Eastern Iowa radio host Jeff Stein last Friday.

King relishes the elites telling him to zip it. It gives him oxygen. A large number of people in Northwest Iowa feel like they are being railroaded by the elites and the Iowa Utilities Commission. It provides fodder for King’s arguments about the government stripping us of our property rights. Attempts to quiet King only amplify his message.

King is a conservative Republican. Similar letters were sent to liberal outfits who find common cause. If the lawyers think they can make Steve King go away, they do not know Steve King. This energizes him. You cannot silence him. The Republican Party tried, and here he is vigorous as ever.