Gov. Ron DeSantis to deploy more Florida soldiers to US southern border amid immigration reform talks
TALLAHASSEE -- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that his administration will send more members of the Florida National Guard and the Florida State Guard to to the U.S. southern border.
During a news conference in Jacksonville, the governor said he was deploying up to 1,000 soldiers curb what the governor said was an effort to stem the flow of immigrants crossing into the U.S. DeSantis has previously expressed support for sending troops to the U.S. southern border.
"States have every right to defend their sovereignty and we are pleased to increase our support to Texas as the Lone Star State works to stop the invasion across the border," DeSantis said in a written statement. "Our reinforcements will help Texas to add additional barriers, including razor wire along the border."
Democrats in Florida blasted the governor's announcement.
"What happened to focusing on Florida?" said Nikki Fried, chairperson of the Florida Democratic Party in a written statement. "This latest attempt to insert himself in the national conversation is just another political stunt with a heavy price tag for taxpayers."
DeSantis last year signed a bill that expanded and make permanent the Florida State Guard, which the governor had revived in 2022.
According to the governor's office, Florida has provided direct law enforcement and military assistance to Texas, providing resources to support observation points, roving patrols and "engineer assistance with obstacle improvement."
The governor's statement said Florida law enforcement officials have made contact with nearly 150,000 illegal aliens, conducted over 27,000 traffic stops, resulting in 2,102 Human Smuggling or Human Trafficking charges with 2,278 overall arrests.
The DeSantis statement did not, however, address the costs associated with the effort to deploy soldiers to Texas.
Democrats were critical of the moves, citing the expense.
"Sending troops and tax dollars to Texas is a massive waste of resources that distracts from delivering results for Floridians," Fried said. "Instead of using this legislative session to address the property insurance crisis, Ron and his Republican supermajority are back to their old tricks."
Immigration reform in Washington
A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress was said to be close to striking a deal with the Biden Administration that would enact sweeping new border controls, including the authority to pause asylum processing during spikes in migrant crossings, three people familiar with the talks told CBS News.
But Republican lawmakers have criticized the deal with several reports suggesting that former President Donald Trump wanted to scuttle the deal in an effort to setback Biden's election chances.
