Iowa District 6 Sen. Jason Schultz (R-Schleswig) voiced strong support for federal immigration enforcement efforts in a recent legislative newsletter, defending deportation policies under President Donald Trump and criticizing media coverage of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. Schultz says deportations of criminally identified illegal immigrants are broadly supported by Americans and notes that similar enforcement actions during the Obama administration did not face the intense pushback that recent efforts have seen, despite deportation numbers actually being higher. Schultz points to current White House Border Czar Tom Homan, who served in a senior ICE enforcement role under President Obama and was recognized with the Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Service for doing then what he is doing now. Schultz says, “I am as proud of the Trump administration and ICE officers as I can be. I hope they break all records in deportations during President Trump’s time in office. And then I hope the next administration crushes his record.” He notes that public reaction to enforcement efforts does not correlate with the actions themselves; rather, the response seems to relate to which party holds the White House. Schultz credits the Iowa GOP’s foresight on this issue, as the legislature passed a law in 2018 that compels Iowa’s state and local entities to comply with federal immigration detainers. Schultz says, “Iowans who want America to succeed are asking that we make sure law enforcement cooperate with ICE if they expand major operations into Iowa. Others, with the opposite motive, are emailing us to let law enforcement resist ICE. The good news is that the Republican trifecta took care of this in 2018, and there is nothing that needs to be done.” Schultz is scheduled to appear Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Kerkhoff Shelter House in Manning at the Carroll Chamber of Commerce’s legislative forum. The hour-long forum beings promptly at 10 a.m. and is open to the public.
