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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — Gov. Ron DeSantis held a roundtable discussion Wednesday in Arizona with border sheriffs to discuss forging a partnership with law enforcement in border states.
DeSantis is pitching Florida’s immigration policies as a solution to America’s border crisis.
“This country is falling on its face with respect to ensuring the sovereignty of our country,” he said.
At the roundtable, DeSantis said the federal government was failing on border security and called for a coalition of states to step up.
“The border needs to just be shut down. We need to be telling people you’re not coming illegally, you’re not doing a bogus asylum claim. You’re not going to be able to cross the border,” the governor said.
DeSantis announced a formal partnership with like-minded sheriffs and governors.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd was at the Arizona roundtable and echoed the governor’s call.
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“Our president and the administration stands silent and allows the people of this country to be victimized. That is simply unacceptable.” Judd said.
The visit to the southern border comes a day after The Florida Department of Emergency Management broke its silence on recent migrant flights, confirming in an email Tuesday night that the state is responsible for the two flights carrying over 30 migrants from Texas to Sacramento, California.
“As you can see from this video, Florida’s voluntary relocation is precisely that – voluntary. Through verbal and written consent, these volunteers indicated they wanted to go to California. A contractor was present and ensured they made it safely to a 3rd-party NGO. The specific NGO, Catholic Charities, is used and funded by the federal government,” the department said.
The flights were the latest use of the state’s migrant relocation program, which lawmakers refunded this year with $12 million in taxpayer money. The program was included in this year’s immigration reform package which gov. DeSantis signed off on it in May.
The governor’s office had repeatedly declined to comment on the flights, but after days of silence, reporters asked him about it at the Arizona roundtable. He didn’t offer specifics, instead saying, “this is something that’s been in the budget now for two years.”
DeSantis has made immigration one of the key issues in his race for the White House. Beyond the migrant relocation program, the governor has vowed to shut down the border and build a wall.
