Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced Thursday morning that he is deploying Florida’s National Guard to Texas’ border in an effort to fight the illegal immigration crisis.
DeSantis slammed President Biden for opening the border on day one of his administration and for thwarting Texas’ effort to secure the border. DeSantis said that Biden already has the authority to get the job done but refuses to.
DeSantis announced that Florida troopers have apprehended 150,000 illegals in Texas but that that isn’t enough yet. Florida will be deploying the National Guard and the first deployment of the Florida State Guard since it was reactivated by Governor DeSantis in 2022.
“The states have to band together…if we don’t have a border, then we are not a sovereign country. You either have a border or you don’t” DeSantis said.
“I think that what’s happening in Texas is not just a Texas issue, it’s an American issue,” DeSantis said. “And you have a situation where you’ve had over 8 million people pour into this country illegally just in the last three years.”
“They have every right to fortify the border, vis-a-vis an invasion. That’s Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution,” DeSantis said. “They’re in the right.”
DeSantis said in the absence of leadership from the federal government, Florida is going to step up.
This announcement comes after 25 Republican governors, including DeSantis, announced that they stand with Texas in it’s fight with the federal government to secure the border.