A disconnect between Brenna Bird and the Trump administration?
Also, some thoughts about Joni Ernst and death
Brenna Bird and the Trump administration apparently don’t see eye to eye when it comes to what constitutes hindering the enforcement of federal immigration laws. At least not when it comes to one northeast Iowa county.
Two months ago, Iowa’s attorney general sued Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx, claiming he was breaking Iowa law by discouraging cooperation with immigration authorities. But late last week, when the federal Department of Homeland Security issued a list of hundreds of states, counties and cities it said were obstructing immigration law, Winneshiek County wasn’t cited.
Bird filed the lawsuit against the sheriff following a Facebook post by Marx that criticized federal immigration tactics. The post prompted a complaint by Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Marx removed the post and noted that since 2018, he had never rejected a federal immigration detainer request. However, he would not sign what amounted to a loyalty oath drafted by the attorney general’s office, after which Bird filed suit. Marx and the county have asked that the suit be dismissed.
The Department of Homeland Security said the list that was published late last week can be changed. Over the weekend, in fact, the department took the list off its website after getting complaints from jurisdictions around the country saying they were inaccurately included.
This “sanctuary” list is part of the Trump administration’s plan to enlist local resources to help it carry out its immigration agenda, which has met stiff resistance in the courts.
If local jurisdictions don’t comply with its demands, the administration says they face possible loss of federal funds. This kind of threat is much the same tack Bird is taking with Winneshiek County.
At some point, Bird and the administration will probably get back on the same page. But the last I was able to check it hadn’t happened yet.
One jurisdiction close to the Quad-Cities that did make the Trump administration’s list: Rock Island County, which is across the river from Scott County. Actually, practically every Illinois county in the state was on the list.
I didn’t see why Illinois was specifically included, but congressional Republicans have objected to the state’s passage of the Illinois Trust Act, a 2017 law the Illinois attorney general says generally prohibits state and local law enforcement from assisting in the enforcement of federal civil immigration law. However, the attorney general’s office also says that the law does not stop those officials from otherwise executing their duties in investigating violations of criminal law, “including by cooperating in such criminal investigations with federal law enforcement partners in order to ensure public safety.”
‘We all are going to die.’
This item isn’t about Joni Ernst. Well, it’s not solely about Joni Ernst.
As every Iowan knows by now, the Iowa Republican mocked a constituent on Friday who expressed concerns that looming Medicaid cuts would cost people their lives by saying, “Well, we all are going to die.”
The next day, Ernst even went to a cemetery and mocked constituents further, issuing a condescending video in which she essentially accused them of foolishly believing in the tooth fairy.
You can read coverage by members of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, Rekha Basu, Laura Belin and Dave Busiek. Ralph Rosenberg also has a take that’s well worth reading.
I have my own thoughts, too.
The reason this episode outraged so many people is because it is a remarkably stark display of Republican disregard for the consequences of the choices they’re making. Still, Ernst’s remarks aren’t the only signal we’ve seen lately Republicans aren’t worried about who gets hurt because of their actions.
Witness Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, who told a congressional committee last month the dismantling of USAID has not caused a single death. Not one.
This is clearly not true. As Nicholas Kristof wrote in the New York Times the other day, “The only debate is whether to measure the dead in the thousands, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands.”
There is a Boston University mathematician and health economist who has estimated the number of deaths being caused by the dismantling of foreign aid at about 300,000. Right-wingers have been attacking her estimate, but even if was 10% of that, shouldn’t it still be horrifying?
In his column, Kristof cited two heartbreaking examples of African children who died because of the destruction of much-needed foreign aid. We should all remember their names: Evan Anzoo, a 5-year-old boy who was born in South Sudan, and Achol Deng, 8 years old.
As Kristof wrote, Rubio is too smart to believe his own lies. But apparently, he could not stand the idea of fessing up to his complicity in the deaths of these two and countless thousands of other children. So, he just lied.
Ernst, who tells her own share of lies, wasn’t fleet footed enough to dodge the complaint by a constituent at one of her town hall meetings. So, she just shrugged off the idea people would die prematurely with the creepy observation that, well, they were going to die, anyway.
I’m not sure which statement is worse. But they both show the same disregard for the human price innocent people are paying for the actions of these politicians.
I’ve argued for years Ernst is primarily driven by her goal to climb the political ladder in Washington, D.C., not the wellbeing of Iowans. She has proved this time and again. She’s abandoned any pretense to being a fiscal conservative; she shifted from being a hawk when it came to Russia to hanging her head as Trump moves to abandon Ukraine; even her loyalty to Trump varied until it was clear last year that he was going to be the Republican nominee.
What Ernst did Friday and over the weekend was simply add to the mountain of evidence that she is out of touch with the concerns of her constituents—and she just doesn’t care.
An open records win in Iowa
The Iowa Department of Public Safety has released the state Division of Criminal Investigation’s full report into the May 28, 2023, collapse of a downtown apartment building in Davenport, according to local news reports.
Scott County Attorney Kelly Cunningham, who declined to file charges in the case, had asked the Iowa Public Information Board to keep the report secret, which drew objections from people in the community.
I wrote about this recently, arguing that keeping the report secret wouldn’t allow the public to properly assess Cunningham’s decision not to file charges, and that it could potentially cause public harm by keeping confidential any findings related to the city’s oversight of the building.
The building collapse killed three people. A fourth person was seriously injured.
The Iowa Attorney General’s office initially sided with the analysis of the county attorney, who argued release of the report could endanger the people who owned and managed the building at the time, along with certain city officials.
I can only come to the conclusion the state released the report because officials there realized they couldn’t win a court fight, or that it wasn’t worth the effort.
Whatever the reason, this was a win for government openness at a time when the state of Iowa is making it more difficult for the public to see what it’s doing.
Along the Mississippi is a proud member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. Please check out the work of my colleagues and consider subscribing. Also, the collaborative partners with the Iowa Capital Dispatch, which provides hard-hitting news along with selected commentary by members of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. Please consider making a donation to support its work, too.
Ed, Ernst sure acts like she can do whatever she wants without answering to voters. I'm concerned. She's not the only one acting like that. If it is the will of the voters go oust this woman, are you concerned she won't go? 2026 elections feel too far away.
Joni’s statement and her response should worry her followers as well as the rest of her constituents . The moment they question or criticize they also become fair game. We knew who she was from the moment we heard the first “make’’em squeal.” Now her constituents can know those words were meant for us.