A conference of lieutenant governors from all over the United States convened in Arizona last week, and one of the biggest questions they faced was what a Donald Trump administration will mean for this country’s relationship with Mexico.
Kim Reynolds is the lieutenant governor of Iowa, and Michael J. Stake is her counterpart from Pennsylvania. This week marked the first time either politician had ever been to the border.
Despite the distance of Iowa and Pennsylvania from the border, the impact of trade with Mexico seems to bring them closer.
“What does trade with Mexico mean to your state? Well, it’s huge. We have $8 billion of trade with Mexico, which makes Mexico one of our largest trading partners,” Stake said.
While Iowa is far from the border, Reynolds said, “Our ability to export is really important to Iowa. One in five jobs is attributed to our ability to export Iowa’s commodities and goods. Mexico is our No. 2 trading partner. Canada is No. 1, and China is No. 3. “
And then there’s the Mexican businesses Pennsylvania is working to attract.
“We just did an agreement with a company from Mexico in the port of Philadelphia where we are going to do trade with agricultural products, fruits and vegetables, and it’s going to be monumental,” Stake said. “It’s going to mean jobs, and it’s going to be great for agriculture. So we have good relations that need to be better. “
Stake, a Democrat, said he worries that, rather than improving the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico, a Donald Trump administration will do the opposite.
Reynolds, a Republican, agreed, but said she is counting on Vice President Mike Pence to step in and smooth out any new policy changes between the two countries so as not to alienate Mexican businesses looking at Iowa.
“Iowa is the No. 1 producer of corn and soybeans and hogs and eggs. And so we are feeding a growing world population. It’s a global marketplace and it’s really important for us to be able to not only market our products to the world and Mexico, but also look for reverse investment into the state of Iowa.”
Border Patrol gave more than 30 lieutenant governors and their staff a tour of security measures and the border fence, and some were taken by surprise.
“I was surprised by the wall,” Reynolds said. “I thought it was going to be a solid wall. It’s not a solid wall.”
“You have an idea in your head and it’s completely different when you’re standing here. And you have this whole idea about having a wall and you realize people can jump over these walls anytime they want to,” Stake said.
Both Stake and Reynolds agree on the need for a secure border and sturdy, effective laws.
“There’s the unwritten stress of the illegal immigration issue,” Stake said. “And so I think there needs to be better communication, better understanding. The more that we can talk about the issue with accurate facts, it will make things better.”
Iowa’s lieutenant governor is in favor of legal immigration. She says it benefits Iowa.
“In Iowa, we have been very welcoming to that. We know if we want to honestly continue to grow the economy that we believe we have the opportunity to, we need people moving into the state. We can’t do it with the existing population,” Reynolds said. “But we just need to work with the existing laws that are on the books and make sure that we secure the border.”
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