“America’s border security crisis impacts every state and every American. The Biden Administration ended policies implemented by President Trump that were curbing illegal immigration, securing our border, and keeping Americans safe,” DeSantis said in a press release.
Referring to Abbott and Republican Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona, DeSantis remarked, “Governors Abbott and Ducey recently sent out a call for help to every state in the nation, needing additional law enforcement manpower and other resources to aid with border security. I’m proud to announce today that the state of Florida is answering the call. Florida has your back.”
According to DeSantis’ office, the agencies that have signed on to provide backup to Texas include the Florida Highway Patrol, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, as well as a number of sheriff’s departments across the state.
The State of Florida pointed to the staggering increase in the amount of fentanyl seized by Texas law enforcement. The Texas Department of Public Safety reported last month that it had seized 95 pounds of fentanyl, which is enough to kill almost 22 million people.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody also criticized Biden and highlighted the public safety interest that assisting Texas has for Florida residents.
“The crisis the president created at our southern border makes all of us less safe, and I am proud to stand with Governor DeSantis as he tries to fix the President’s disaster at the border to protect Floridians,” Moody said.
Invoking the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, Abbott and Ducey sent a letter on June 10 to every governor in the U.S. requesting assistance with enforcing the law as reported enforcement encounters with illegal aliens in the southwest region exceeded 180,000 in May.
“Securing our border with Mexico is the federal government’s responsibility. But the Biden Administration has proven unwilling or unable to do the job. This failure to enforce federal immigration laws causes banns that spill over into every State,” the governors wrote.
“The cartels will see to it that their deadly fentanyl and human-trafficking victims reach far and wide. The convicted criminals they smuggle into the homeland will bring recidivism with them to far too many of your communities.”
On Wednesday, Abbott officially directed the Texas Facilities Commission to hire a program manager for the state’s border wall project, the latest in a series of steps he has taken this year to address the surge of illegal crossings. The governor committed a “down payment” of at least $250 million for the wall.
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Hayden Sparks
Hayden Sparks is a senior reporter for The Texan and a lifelong resident of the Lone Star State. He has coached competitive speech and debate and has been involved in politics since a young age. One of Hayden's favorite quotes is by Sam Houston: "Texas has yet to learn submission to any oppression, come from what source it may."
