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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is planning to send 1,100 state law enforcement agents and National Guard members to the southern border in Texas as early as Wednesday to enforce immigration law in the wake of Title 42. File Photo by Robert Kaufmann/FEMA/UPI |
License PhotoMay 16 (UPI) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is planning to send 1,100 state law-enforcement agents and National Guard members to the southern border in Texas as early as Wednesday to enforce immigration law in the wake of Title 42.
The Republican governor made the announcement Tuesday, just weeks before he is expected to launch his presidential campaign and after sparring with President Joe Biden over last week’s expiration of Title 42 — the COVID-era policy that allowed the United States to turn away migrants based on pandemic health concerns.
“The impacts of Biden’s border crisis are felt by communities across the nation, and the federal government’s abdication of duty undermines the sovereignty of our country and rule of law,” DeSantis said in a statement Tuesday.
“At my direction, state agencies including law enforcement and the Florida National Guard, are being deployed to Texas, with assets including personnel, boats, and planes,” DeSantis said. “While Biden ignores the crisis he created, Florida stands ready to help Texas respond to the crisis.”
On Tuesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott thanked Florida and Idaho for offering assistance in a letter directed to every governor in the United States. Abbott urged each state to join efforts “to combat President Biden’s ongoing border crisis and ensure the safety and security that all Americans deserve.”
According to Abbott, Texas has spent more than $4.5 billion since 2021 on border security and “should not have to shoulder the financial burden of protecting our nation alone.”
“I thank these states for proactively addressing this crisis and request other states follow their lead in helping to secure America’s border,” Abbott wrote.
While the Biden administration sent 24,000 additional agents to border towns to prepare for an influx of immigrants with the expiration of Title 42, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced Monday a 50% drop in encounters at the U.S. southern border in the two days since Title 42 ended.
DeSantis said he will send 800 Florida National Guard soldiers, 200 agents from the state Department of Law Enforcement Officers, 101 Florida Highway Patrol troopers, as well as 20 agents from Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Department of Emergency Management.
In addition to personnel, Florida will send 5 fixed-wing aircraft, 17 unmanned drones and 10 waterborne vessels to Texas.
The mission is expected to last 30 days.
This is not the first time DeSantis has sent assets to Texas’ border with Mexico. In the summer of 2021, the governor sent dozens of state law enforcement officers at a cost of $1.6 million.
Florida’s assistance to Texas comes under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which allows states to provide resources to other states during times of emergency.
