Global Courant
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday unveiled his plan to guard the southern border by promising to give local authorities more power to enforce the country’s immigration laws.
One of the biggest changes would be to replace local and state law enforcement officers in order to deport migrants, arguing that states have the right to intervene if the federal government fails to do so.
“On January 20, 2025, we will be on a mission to stop the invasion of our southern border, to fight the drug cartels that are poisoning our citizens, to build the border wall, and to restore the sovereignty of this nation,” DeSantis said during a campaign visit at Eagle Pass, Texas. “We’re done with promises. We’re done with slogans. Now it’s time for action. No excuses. We’ll get the job done.”
DeSantis’ border security plan is the first formal rollout of a policy proposal from his month-long campaign for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.
DESANTIS ANNOUNCES NATIONAL COALITION OF 90 SHERIFFS TO SET BACK AGAINST BORDER CRISIS
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, details his new border security plan at a news conference along the US-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas, on June 26, 2023.
(Fox News – Alexandria Hernandez)
The Republican governor has criticized the Biden administration for the crisis at the border, which has seen record numbers of migrants in recent years.
Changes promised by DeSantis included ending “catch and release” – a policy that allows migrants to be released into the US while they await their asylum hearing – and reintroducing the “Remain in Mexico” policy.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks with Fox News’ Bill Melugin along the US-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas, on June 25, 2023, ahead of the release of a border security plan by the Republican presidential nominee. (Fox News – Alexandria Hernandez)
He said that if elected to the White House, he would declare the crisis on the southern border a “day one national emergency” while holding Mexico’s drug cartels to account.
FLORIDA’S LARGEST POLICE UNION ENDORSES DESANTIS AFTER SUPPORTING TRUMP IN 2020
Fighting illegal immigration has been a top priority for DeSantis, who as governor has enacted a series of anti-illegal immigration measures, including sending migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and most recently to California as part of a program to relocate illegal immigrants .
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis along the US-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas, on June 25, 2023, ahead of the release of a border security plan by the Republican presidential nominee. (Fox News – Alexandria Hernandez)
In response to his plan, the Democratic National Committee targeted DeSantis.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Ron DeSantis has repeatedly used young children and families as pawns in his superficial political stunts to pander to the MAGA base. This latest plan is more of the same — political gimmicks that are just an echo of the same brutal and callous policies of the Trump administration that have broken our immigration system,” DNC spokesman Ammar Moussa said in a statement.
