Flanked by National Guard soldiers, an armored Humvee and law enforcement, Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds on Monday attacked Democratic President Joe Biden's border policies, blaming him for record-high crossings, humanitarian concerns and an increase in fentanyl coming into the United States.

Reynolds joined fellow Republican governors Greg Abbott of Texas, Jim Pillen of Nebraska, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma and Kristi Noem of South Dakota for a news conference in Eagle Pass, Texas, where that state installed a 1,000-foot-long floating barrier in July as part of a $4 billion border security initiative, Operation Lone Star.

“On Day One this administration has reversed policies that protect the sovereignty of this country and its citizens,” Reynolds told reporters of Biden’s efforts to rescind immigration policy implemented by Republican former President Donald Trump that forced thousands of asylum-seekers to stay in Mexico awaiting U.S. hearings.

“And, ultimately, have made every state a border state,” Reynolds, who chairs the Republican Governors Association, continued. “Certainly, not to the extent that Texas is experiencing. But, let me tell you, Iowa is located at the intersection of two major interstates, and it is a pathway for the Mexican cartel and human traffickers to take to go from Mexico to the Midwest.”

Since 2020, Iowa has seen a 500% increase in the amount of fentanyl seized, a 100% increase in meth seized and a 35% increase in drug-related deaths. Much of it traced back to Mexican drug cartels, Reynolds said.

A total of 109 soldiers from the Iowa National Guard deployed Aug. 1 to Texas in support of Operation Lone Star, with the mission of “deterring illegal border crossings and preventing the trafficking of illegal substances by cartels through Texas.” The deployment is scheduled to last until Sept. 1.

Iowa State Patrol officers will deploy Aug. 31 for a separate 30-day stint to support Texas state troopers with criminal interdiction, crime prevention, traffic enforcement and law enforcement assistance. An investigative team also will support Texas investigations of narcotics, weapons and human trafficking along the border, according to the governor’s office. That deployment will end Oct. 2.

This is the Iowa Guard’s third deployment to the U.S. southern border since 2020.

Reynolds announced plans for the deployment in May in response to a request for aid from Abbott following the end of Title 42, a pandemic-era rule that allowed the federal government to expel migrants more easily. In the letter, Abbott said Texas had apprehended over 376,000 migrants and made 28,000 arrests since the March 2021 inception of Operation Lone Star.

Reynolds’ office did not provide a cost estimate for the deployments, and said it will provide details for each deployment upon the completion “to ensure accuracy.” The office has said costs will be covered by federal funding allocated to Iowa from the American Rescue Plan that Biden signed into law in 2021 and that Reynolds opposed.

A spokesman for Reynolds said the governor has prioritized using the federal funds to support one-time investments aimed at strengthening the state’s economy, workforce, infrastructure and public health.

“This investment is no different,” the governor’s office said in a statement to The Gazette. “The health of our people and economy is directly threatened by the illegal drugs flowing through the southern border and into our state. The State of Iowa has seen a dramatic increase in the amount of fentanyl and methamphetamine seizures since the pandemic.”

Reynolds said border security is a federal responsibility that has not been adequately addressed by Biden.

“The fact that the states are protecting the Southern border is an assault on the Constitution and the American people, and it is time for this president to step up — way past time — and do his job,” Reynolds said.

Migrants arrested crossing the border jumped more than 30% in July, according to preliminary U.S. Customs and Border Protection data obtained by the Washington Post. The White House, in a statement, argued unlawful border crossings, though, have declined overall following the enactment of stricter asylum rules, and remain lower than the levels in the months before May 11, when the Biden administration ended Title 42.

“This administration has led the largest expansion of lawful pathways in decades and we are committed to building a humane, safe, and orderly immigration system,” a White House official said. “Individuals who do not use the lawful pathways we’ve made available will continue to be presumed ineligible for asylum and they will be subject to prompt removal, a minimum five-year ban on reentry, and potential criminal prosecution.”

The U.S. Justice Department sued Abbott and the state of Texas after he refused to remove the floating barrier in the Rio Grande. The lawsuit says the barrier of buoys and razor wire raises humanitarian, navigation and public safety issues.

Pillen, the Nebraska governor and pig farmer, called the assertion “hogwash.”

“The buoys are a deterrent,” he said. “They don’t cause a Band Aid. And, if they do, I say what the heck, stay on your side of the river.”

Texas quietly moved its buoys to the American side of the Rio Grande, days after the Justice Department showed a federal court evidence the floating barrier was on Mexican territory. Mexico had complained about the violation of its sovereignty.

Abbott said at least 853 migrants died trying to cross the border last year — making fiscal year 2022 the deadliest year for migrants recorded by the U.S. government.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.