Ron DeSantis to send up to 1,000 Florida National Guard troops to Texas border: ‘Stop the invasion’

Up to 1,000 Florida National Guard troops will be sent to the Texas border to stop the influx of migrants, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday morning.

The soldiers will be deployed “based on Texas’ needs,” according to a press release on the Florida governor’s website.

The Florida State Guard will also be sent to Texas to support Gov. Greg Abbott’s effort to repel migrants at the border — which is the first time the group has been deployed out of state, the release noted.

These deployments are in addition to officers from the Florida Highway Patrol, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement who are already at the border, the office said.

The governor, 45, made the announcement standing in front of members of the Florida National Guard and an orange sign that read “Stop the Invasion” in bold, black letters.

“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 added. “Our reinforcements will help Texas to add additional barriers, including razor wire along the border. We don’t have a country if we don’t have a border,” he added.

The former Republican presidential candidate also slammed the Biden administration’s perceived inaction at the border in the wake of US Customs and Border Protection’s record 2.5 million illegal immigrant encounters in 2023.

“[President] Biden has the authority to close this border today. If he wanted to, he lacks the will to get the job done. He lacks the capacity to see the problem for what it is and to get the job done,” DeSantis said, according to Fox News Digital. ***

For those thT think it doesn’t work:

Bill Melugin (X)

NEW: The large majority of illegal crossings at the southern border are now happening in AZ & CA, as a shift away from TX continues.

Per CBP sources, over the last week of January, Border Patrol apprehended 32,809 illegal immigrants.

23,576 of them (71.8%) were in AZ & CA.

Notably, the numbers in TX’s Del Rio sector, which includes Eagle Pass, have fallen off a cliff. In December, the sector saw days of 3,000-4,000 illegal crossings per day. Over the last week, it has averaged around just 200. This is happening due to two reasons:

Texas has locked things down on their side of the border, and Mexico has increased enforcement against migrants arriving in the MX state of Coahuila following Sec. of State Antony Blinken’s visit to MX in December. Mexico is now suddenly stopping migrants from boarding trains, and is removing migrants from their northern border down to their southern border following that meeting. And the migrants who do cross there now find a very unwelcoming posture from the state of TX with legions of soldiers, troopers, and razor wire, & threat of arrest. It is unknown what the US offered MX in return for this cooperation.

However, the Mexican government enforcement has not happened in other areas of the border, and Border Patrol’s San Diego sector and Tucson, AZ sector are now seeing the most activity.

For instance, yesterday, CBP sources tell me there were 5,240 Border Patrol apprehensions of illegal immigrants at the southern border.
3,854 of them (73.5%) were in AZ & CA.

(None of these numbers include CBP ports of entry/CBP One App or gotaways. These are only recorded Border Patrol apprehensions).

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