Iowa National Guard members will be deployed to assist federal immigrant enforcement efforts, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Aug. 12, 2025. Guard members are shown here marching in a parade at the Iowa State Fair. (Photo courtesy of Iowa National Guard)
Iowa National Guard soldiers will deploy to provide support for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in September, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Tuesday.
The deployment, set to begin Sept. 8, will involve 20 National Guard soldiers providing “administrative and logistical support” to ICE officials based in Iowa who are enforcing immigration laws, according to the news release. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has authorized the National Guard action as a supportive federal Title 32 mission, meaning the soldiers will be on active duty under state control but with federal pay.
Reynolds said the announcement comes in response to a request from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to provide assistance to ICE as the agency carries out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts. The New York Times reported in July National Guard deployments are planned in 20 states with GOP governors, including Florida, Tennessee and Virginia.
Iowa is one of the states participating in this effort. In a statement, Reynolds linked the announcement to previous Iowa National Guard deployments to the U.S. southern border. The governor has sent state National Guard members to Texas to assist with state immigration enforcement efforts in 2023 and 2024, in addition to sending Iowa Department of Public Safety officers and Iowa State Patrol troopers to assist with missions in previous years.
“Just as we supported Texas when the Biden Administration left them to defend the border, Iowa will continue to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration laws — this time, by working with the Trump Administration to support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in our state,” Reynolds said in a statement. “By providing administrative and logistical support, the Iowa National Guard will free up local ICE officials to continue their work outside the office to enforce the law and keep our state safe.”
The governor has repeatedly emphasized her commitment to working with the Trump administration and ICE in the national immigration crackdown. But some immigrant rights advocates say these actions will hurt Iowa’s immigrant communities.
Alejandra Escobar with the organization Escucha Mi Voz Iowa said in a statement earlier in August the decision to use the Iowa National Guard in ICE efforts “represents an unprecedented escalation in anti-immigrant policy” that could result in civil liberties violations and risk the safety of Iowa families.
“Escucha Mi Voz members demand Governor Reynolds keep the Iowa National Guard out of immigration enforcement,” Escobar said. “Deploying the National Guard against our state’s hard working immigrant communities is morally indefensible and risks widespread violations of civil liberties and constitutional rights. We will be closely monitoring this situation and are prepared to mobilize communities statewide against any action that threatens Iowa families.”
The state government has also taken other actions to be involved in federal immigration law enforcement. The Iowa Department of Public Safety signed an agreement with ICE in March to establish a three-person task force of special agents, deputized to carry out certain federal immigration law enforcement actions, like issuing immigration detainers.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird also pursued a lawsuit against Winneshiek County and its sheriff, Dan Marx, after he made a Facebook post saying he would not honor ICE detainer quests for people suspected of being undocumented immigrants, if requests had not been approved by the courts. The lawsuit was dismissed in July, as Bird said Marx and the county “have committed to continue to honor ICE detainers and cooperate with federal immigration authorities.”
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