Ashley Hinson has made border security a top priority throughout her tenure in Congress, consistently supporting stricter immigration enforcement, increased border wall construction, and advanced surveillance technology such as drones (Des Moines Register, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier).
She has repeatedly criticized the Biden administration’s border policies, blaming them for increased illegal immigration, drug smuggling, and overwhelmed law enforcement—citing Iowa-specific impacts such as a reported tripling in cartel-connected drug activity (Des Moines Register, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier).
Hinson has taken legislative action—including co-sponsoring the EXIT Act to streamline closing drug tunnels and introducing measures to restrict sending federal air marshals to the border without a declared crisis (Gazette, Daily Nonpareil).
She has advocated for the impeachment and resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over alleged failures to enforce immigration laws and provided vocal oversight, leading and signing letters to the President on border security (Daily Nonpareil).
Hinson’s approach and rhetoric have received praise from Iowan constituents who support stringent border measures, though her strong alignment with Trump-era policies and emphasis on enforcement could be seen as a vulnerability with moderate voters (Des Moines Register).
She has publicly criticized Democratic border proposals and funding allocations, opposing deals she believes lack strict enough enforcement, such as the mandate for automatic border closure upon encountering certain thresholds (Daily Nonpareil).
2025: Ashley Hinson Praised Trump Administration's Border Czar Tom Homan For Deportation Actions According to Des Moines Register, "Hinson said the Trump administration's Border Czar Tom Homan is doing what the American people want by deporting immigrants living in the country illegally who have criminal records." [Des Moines Register, 1/31/25]
2025: Ashley Hinson Cited Iowan Support For Border Crackdown Efforts According to Des Moines Register, 'I'm hearing from Iowans, that they're like 'Rah-rah go ahead keep this up' because that is exactly what they voted for in the mandate that we have to deliver on,' Hinson said. [Des Moines Register, 1/31/25]
Ashley Hinson Prioritized Border Security During And After Her Election According to Des Moines Register, "During and after her election, Hinson has emphasized increasing border security as a top priority while in Congress." [Des Moines Register, 1/31/25]
2021: Hinson Co-Sponsored EXIT Act To Remove Red Tape For Border Tunnel Closures According to Gazette, "EXIT Act: Removes bureaucratic red tape so that Customs and Border Patrol can fill in tunnels used for drug smuggling without an independent environment review." [Gazette, 4/16/21]
Ashley Hinson Claimed Communities Sought Help Due To Rising Migrant Deaths At The Border In 2021 According to Daily Nonpareil, 'Harris likely heard from communities "crying out for help because they need more body bags for all the migrants who are dying trying to cross the border.'" [Daily Nonpareil, 6/26/21]
February 2024: Hinson Led Iowa House Lawmakers In Sending Letter To Biden On Border Security According to The Daily Nonpareil, "The four lawmakers representing Iowa in the House signed a letter to President Joe Biden, an effort led by Rep. Ashley Hinson, who said Biden refuses to 'fix the crisis today by enforcing our existing immigration laws.'" [Daily Nonpareil, 2/6/24]
2024: Hinson Opposed Senate Border Deal For Not Mandating Border Closure At Lower Encounter Threshold According to Daily Nonpareil, '"She also noted her support of an appropriations bill that includes funding for drone technology and automated surveillance towers to act as a force multiplier to aid Border Patrol. Hinson said she opposed the Senate deal because it would not mandate a border closure until Border Patrol reached a seven-day average of 5,000 or more border encounters, or if the number exceeded 8,500 in a single day." [Daily Nonpareil, 10/20/24]
2024: Hinson Supported Funding For Drone And Automated Border Surveillance According to Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, 'She also noted her support of an appropriations bill that includes funding for drone technology and automated surveillance towers to act as a force multiplier to aid Border Patrol.' [Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (Iowa), 10/21/24]
April 2021: Hinson Visited Southern Border Before Harris According to Telegraph Herald, "U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, has been chanting for Harris to visit the border ever since her own trip there in April." [Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, IA), 6/27/21]
2022: Letter Writer Asserted Ashley Hinson Fought to Restart Border Wall Construction According to a letter to the editor published in Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, "National security is a top priority for Hinson by fighting to restart the border wall construction and give support for our military." [Letter to the Editor - Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, 6/7/22]
February 2024: Hinson Supported Mayorkas Impeachment Over Border Security Issues According to The Daily Nonpareil, "Hinson said in a news release this week, that she fully supports the impeachment of Mayorkas in an effort to start securing the border." [Daily Nonpareil, 2/6/24]
March 2024: Ashley Hinson Introduced Bill To Restrict Deployment Of Federal Air Marshals To Border According to Daily Nonpareil, "Hinson introduced a bill that would prevent the deployment of federal air marshals to the U.S.-Mexico border unless a crisis is declared at the border. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas would have to declare a crisis before air marshals could be deployed. Hinson said the bill would prevent Mayorkas from dodging accountability." [Daily Nonpareil, 3/26/24]
April 2021: Ashley Hinson Expressed Concern About Lack Of Solutions For U.S. Southern Border Security According to Valley News Today, 'I heard a lot of posturing about holding terrorist countries accountable, but yet no solution to these terrorists coming across our southern border,' said Hinson, who met with sheriffs Thursday to learn how the border crisis is affecting law enforcement in Iowa. [Valley News Today, 4/30/21]
April 2021: Ashley Hinson Voiced Concerns About Border Security And Its Impact On Iowa Law Enforcement According to Globe Gazette, "I heard a lot of posturing about holding terrorist countries accountable, but yet no solution to these terrorists coming across our southern border," said Hinson, who met with sheriffs Thursday to learn how the border crisis is affecting law enforcement in Iowa. [Globe Gazette, 4/30/21]
April 2021: Ashley Hinson Expressed Concern Over Border Security And Fentanyl Seizures According to Denison Bulletin & Review (Iowa), "I heard a lot of posturing about holding terrorist countries accountable, but yet no solution to these terrorists coming across our southern border," said Hinson, who met with sheriffs Thursday to learn how the border crisis is affecting law enforcement in Iowa. [Denison Bulletin & Review (Iowa), 4/30/21]
Ashley Hinson Conducted April 2021 Border Visit And Described Law Enforcement Being Overwhelmed According to Daily Nonpareil, 'Based on her April visit to the border, Hinson said she knows what Harris will see. "It's overwhelmed law enforcement. They're struggling to keep up with coyotes, the drug smugglers, the cartels," Hinson said.' [Daily Nonpareil, 6/26/21]
Ashley Hinson Urged Action From Harris To Address Border Issues In 2021 According to Daily Nonpareil, 'I hope she hears these things and learns from this and is ready to come and get something done to fix this problem that they have created,' Hinson said. [Daily Nonpareil, 6/26/21]
Hinson Introduced The 'See the Crisis Act' In 2021 According to Telegraph Herald, "She went as far as to introduce a bill she called the See the Crisis Act, which would have suspended Harris' international travel budget until she went to the southern border." [Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, IA), 6/27/21]
June 2021: Hinson Criticized Harris' Border Visit According to Telegraph Herald, "It should not have taken the @VP nearly 100 days to go to the border to see the illegal immigration crisis this administration has created," she tweeted. "I hope she will talk to the brave law enforcement officers on the frontlines of this crisis & finally work to secure our border." [Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, IA), 6/27/21]
July 2021: Hinson Objected To Cuts In Customs And Border Protection And Homeland Security Funding According to Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, 'One of the most tone-deaf examples,' she said, was slashing funding for Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security when 'we're dealing with a worsening border crisis.' [Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (IA), 7/19/21]
July 2021: Hinson Cited 21-Year High In Border Crossings According to Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, "Border crossings topped 188,000 in June — a 21-year high, Hinson said." [Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (IA), 7/19/21]
2024: Ashley Hinson Claimed Cartel Drug Activity Tripled In Iowa Since Biden Took Office According to Des Moines Register, 'Iowa law enforcement officers recently informed me that cartel-connected drug activity has tripled in our state since Biden took office. Securing the border, stopping illegal immigration, and protecting our country is priority No. 1,' she said. [Des Moines Register, 11/5/24]
2024: Ashley Hinson Proposed Legislation For Increased Border Control According to Radio Iowa, "Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Marion, has proposed legislation she says will create better border control. Hinson it is in response to the recent action by President Joe Biden that she calls inadequate." [Radio Iowa, 6/7/24]
October 2021: Hinson Criticized Biden Administration's Border Policies According to Telegraph Herald, 'Hinson also criticized the Biden administration's handling of the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border. In her discussions with customs and border patrol agents, she has been told that officials are apprehending convicted murders, gang members, sex offenders and drug dealers among illegal immigrants.' [Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, IA), 10/19/21]
October 2021: Hinson Criticized Biden Administration's Handling Of U.S.-Mexico Border According to Telegraph Herald, "Hinson also criticized the Biden administration's handling of the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border. In her discussions with customs and border patrol agents, she has been told that officials are apprehending convicted murderers, gang members, sex offenders and drug dealers among illegal immigrants." [Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, IA), 10/19/21]
April 2021: Hinson Voiced Concern About Lack Of Border Security Solutions In Biden's Speech According to Daily Nonpareil, Hinson stated, "I heard a lot of posturing about holding terrorist countries accountable, but yet no solution to these terrorists coming across our southern border," and noted she "met with sheriffs Thursday to learn how the border crisis is affecting law enforcement in Iowa." [Daily Nonpareil, 4/29/21]
April 2021: Ashley Hinson Criticized Biden's Border Security Policies According to Muscatine Journal (Iowa), 'I heard a lot of posturing about holding terrorist countries accountable, but yet no solution to these terrorists coming across our southern border,' said Hinson, who met with sheriffs Thursday to learn how the border crisis is affecting law enforcement in Iowa. [Muscatine Journal (Iowa), 4/29/21]
April 2021: Hinson Criticized Biden's Address For Lacking Solutions On Border Security According to Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, "I heard a lot of posturing about holding terrorist countries accountable, but yet no solution to these terrorists coming across our southern border," said Hinson, who met with sheriffs Thursday to learn how the border crisis is affecting law enforcement in Iowa. [Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, 4/29/21]
April 2021: Ashley Hinson Voiced Concern Over Border Security Following Biden's Address According to Gazette, "I heard a lot of posturing about holding terrorist countries accountable, but yet no solution to these terrorists coming across our southern border," said Hinson, who met with sheriffs Thursday to learn how the border crisis is affecting law enforcement in Iowa. [Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA), 4/29/21]
August 2023: Hinson Criticized Biden Administration For Border And Fiscal Policies According to Muscatine Journal (Iowa), "'The reason we're in this fight is because the radical left has declared war on middle America and our values,' Hinson said. 'They have opened up our Southern border. They have spent trillions of dollars we don't have. They have let criminals out onto our streets and they turned our schools into woke indoctrination centers,' while ignoring kitchen table issues of inflation, a bulging federal deficit, border security and the flow of illicit fentanyl into the United States." [Muscatine Journal (Iowa), 8/7/23]
August 2023: Hinson Criticized Democratic Policies and Biden Administration According to Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, '"The reason we're in this fight is because the radical left has declared war on middle America and our values," Hinson said. "They have opened up our Southern border. They have spent trillions of dollars we don't have. They have let criminals out onto our streets and they turned our schools into woke indoctrination centers," while ignoring kitchen table issues of inflation, a bulging federal deficit, border security and the flow of illicit fentanyl into the United States.' [Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (IA), 8/7/23]
August 2023: Hinson Criticized Biden Administration On Multiple Issues According to Globe Gazette, "'The reason we're in this fight is because the radical left has declared war on middle America and our values,' Hinson said. 'They have opened up our Southern border. They have spent trillions of dollars we don't have. They have let criminals out onto our streets and they turned our schools into woke indoctrination centers,' while ignoring kitchen table issues of inflation, a bulging federal deficit, border security and the flow of illicit fentanyl into the United States." [Globe Gazette (Mason City, Iowa), 8/7/23]
Hinson First Called For Secretary Mayorkas To Resign In 2021 Over Immigration Testimony According to The Daily Nonpareil, "'I first called for Secretary Mayorkas to resign in 2021 after he lied to my appropriations colleagues and me about releasing illegal immigrants into the United States, and the lies haven't stopped since. At this point, if his mouth is moving, he is lying,' Hinson said." [Daily Nonpareil, 2/6/24]