At a town hall meeting on Tuesday, Senator Chuck Grassley faced tremendous public anger. Constituents had every right to passionately express their frustrations with his policies, high among them policies toward asylum seekers. Grassley, who joined the Senate in 1981, has been increasingly vocal about his distaste for the chamber’s current trajectory. He led the discussion while on his 45th annual 99-county tour of Iowa. What makes the event unique is its confrontational tone. This makes it one of the only in-person meetings held by Republican lawmakers during the current congressional recess.
The people we heard from were completely incensed by the way that people seeking asylum are being treated. They urged Grassley to act and make sure that the United States upholds its obligations under international law. As the discussion unfolded, multiple participants reminded him of his constitutional oath of office, highlighting their discontent with current policies.
To justify his new anti-national-local-control position, Grassley pointed to Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. He stated, “I’m trying to recapture the constitutional authority of Article 1, Section 8.” This was not enough to satisfy the audience, who continued to boo and heckle him as tensions mounted and they expressed their concerns.
One attendee voiced their anger, saying, “The president doesn’t care,” while another remarked, “Turning away people who have come here for asylum is one of the most shameful things we are doing right here.” It was clear that many of the people at that meeting were experiencing just what these ladies were expressing. They believed that their senator was not listening to their issues enough.
Grassley, a self-identified believer in his Christian faith, reiterated his stance on immigration, stating, “I would welcome refugees, I would welcome people seeking asylum.” The senator was only able to communicate his perspective before meeting strong resistance. His constituents were so enraged by his answers that there was no way for him to regain order in the meeting.
Yet this town hall meeting played out in one of the nation’s most Republican — and clearly one of the most combative — states. Attendees brought a fiery sense of urgency to the current administration’s abominable immigration and asylum policies. National and international media attention highlighted the often fiery exchanges between Grassley and his irate constituents. This perfectly crystallized the growing disconnect between legislators and their constituents on weighty topics.