Immigration
DeSantis meets with Arizona law enforcement at southern border
“The border needs to just be shut down. We need to be telling people you’re not coming illegally, you’re not doing a bogus asylum claim. You’re not going to be able to cross the border,” the governor said during the visit
June 8, 2023 8:58am
Updated: June 8, 2023 8:59am
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican presidential hopeful made a surprise visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Wednesday to discuss the migrant crisis with law enforcement officials in border states.
During his first official visit to the border since launching his 2024 presidential campaign, DeSantis attended a roundtable discussion with law enforcement officials, including Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels, in Sierra Vista, Arizona. During the visit, the parties agreed to forge a “like-minded” partnership with law enforcement in border states to replicate Florida’s border policies and stop unauthorized immigration.
The disaster at our border is a direct result of the Biden Administration ending Trump border policies that curbed illegal immigration, the influx of drugs, and human smuggling. pic.twitter.com/TXhq8nsp3E
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) July 17, 2021
“I think this has been a massive dereliction of duty by the president,” DeSantis said during the discussion. “While the federal government leaves a void, the states need to step up and local officials like the sheriffs need to step up.”
“The border needs to just be shut down. We need to be telling people you’re not coming illegally, you’re not doing a bogus asylum claim. You’re not going to be able to cross the border,” the governor said.
The visit comes days after the DeSantis administration was accused of sending two flights with more than 30 migrants from Texas to Sacramento California. According to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Florida promised the migrants that they would be provided support and jobs at their destination.
On Tuesday, after days of repeatedly declining to comment about the flights, the Florida Department of Emergency Management confirmed that the state of Florida was responsible for the flights.
“As you can see from this video, Florida’s voluntary relocation is precisely that – voluntary. Through verbal and written consent, these volunteers indicated they wanted to go to California. A contractor was present and ensured they made it safely to a 3rd-party NGO. The specific NGO, Catholic Charities, is used and funded by the federal government,” the department said.
The DeSantis administration had previously organized a migrant flight in September 2022, which took 50 migrants from Texas to the wealthy vacation town of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
