Iowa senator introduces bill that would require border materials turned over to states

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst will introduce a bill that would require the federal government to give unused materials, used on “border barriers,” to state leaders who request them.

In a news conference, Ernst says millions of dollars of unused border wall materials are sitting idle at the border.

If her bill were to become law, states like Arizona and Texas would be given the materials to construct barriers. The bill faces long odds since Democrats currently control the House and Senate.

“When it turns to immigration policy, there is a lot of deadlock, because immigration policy can’t be changed unless we know that we actually can enforce those policies. And that begins with securing our borders,” said Sen. Ernst (R-IA).

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley also is a co-sponsor of the bill.

“We are a welcoming nation, but a country without a border isn’t a country. Our bill will allow states to take an important step toward fixing this unprecedented border crisis by continuing construction of a border wall,” he said in a news release.

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