WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) and the entire Iowa congressional delegation are standing up for Iowa farmers who will be hurt as a result of the Biden administration’s recent decision to suspend major rail crossings on the southern border. In a letter to President Joe Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the Iowa legislators note these rail crossings are critically important for transporting Iowa’s agricultural products, which support roughly one million U.S. jobs and 31 percent of American farm income.

“Iowa proudly leads the country in agriculture, with our farmers working day in, day out to feed and fuel the world,” the lawmakers wrote. “The importance of rail for transporting Iowa’s grain and agricultural products across the country cannot be overstated.”

“…[T]his punitive move to harm America’s farmers will exacerbate the pain already felt by families across the country because of the border crisis you caused,” the lawmakers continued. “We, therefore, urge you to establish operational control of these passes to reopen the flow of legal goods as quickly as possible.”

Following the letter, Grassley secured a staff-level briefing earlier today with officials from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and representatives from all Iowa congressional offices to discuss the impacts of the rail suspension. CBP and DHS officials acknowledged the consequences of the railway pause and provided an operational update on the record-high level of migrant encounters at the southern border which have caused this drastic trade disruption.  

Background

On Monday, CBP closed rail crossings between Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, where more than one third of the United States’ business with Mexico is typically exchanged. For every day the railways are closed, 60 trains sit idle and 4,500 Union Pacific rail cars face delay, preventing the export of grain and other goods.

Since the start of the Biden administration, over 6.4 million illegal immigrants – more than double the population of Iowa – have poured over the southern border and into our country.

Read the delegation’s letter HERE.

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