Honoring law enforcement

By Mariannette Miller-Meeks

In order to keep our cities safe and our borders secure, we need bipartisan action to dedicate resources to support law enforcement. Officers do their job because they are committed to serving and protecting their communities. It’s a selfless profession filled with brave men and women who put their lives on the line to protect others and keep order in society.

Maintaining public safety is the key to thriving communities and our nation as a whole. When cities are safe, businesses are more willing to invest in communities to help them grow. In the last few years our officers have been constantly attacked and defunded in many major American cities. Progressive district attorneys are contributing to the problem by refusing to prosecute crime, leaving criminals on the street who are highly likely to re-offend. We’ve all heard stories far too often about serious crimes committed by people who have been arrested countless times before being let back out onto the streets.

The same goes for our borders. No one can discount the contributions that immigrants have made to American culture and our economic success, but the ongoing crisis at the southern border is unsustainable and must be controlled. We need to have a secure border, and a safe and fair immigration process for people who are coming to our great country for a better life. The Biden administration’s open border policies have welcomed and encouraged illegal immigrants, crime, and illicit drugs to flood across our border. Not only have these policies put our national security at risk, but they have fueled the opioid epidemic.

President Biden has actively undermined our border agents by reversing policies that had proven effective, leading to the largest border crisis in American history. Over 5 million illegal immigrants have crossed our southern border since the beginning of the Biden administration. Our border agents have been forced to prioritize the ports of entry, leaving large parts of the border open for Mexican cartels to easily transport over 14,000 pounds of fentanyl, enough to kill over 3 billion people.

Our law enforcement officers have been left with policies that leave them feeling powerless to do the job they selflessly dedicate their lives to. Whether on the border or in major cities, we need serious bipartisan police reform that holds bad officers accountable and dedicates resources to help good officers do their jobs.

Mariannette Miller-Meeks currently represents Iowa’s First District in the United States House of Representatives.