More border support: Governor Ron DeSantis sends additional Florida National Guard and Florida State Guard to assist Texas
Press release from the Office of Governor Ron DeSantis
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Florida is deploying members of the Florida National Guard (FLNG) and members of the Florida State Guard to assist Texas in its efforts to stop the invasion at the southern border. Florida is offering up to a battalion of National Guard members (approximately 1,000 soldiers) to Texas, who will be deployed based on Texas’ needs.
These deployments are in addition to the more than 90 officers from the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) that are currently deployed to the border. Additional law enforcement resources are standing by and ready to deploy as requested by Texas state officials. In December, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data showed that more than 302,000 illegal immigrants were encountered attempting to cross the southern border – the highest month ever recorded.
“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,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “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.”
“This is not a new mission for us. For several years we have supported border security missions in Texas, to include both federal and state deployments,” said Major General John D. Haas, The Adjutant General of Florida. “Last spring the Florida National Guard was one of the first in the nation to deploy rotations of soldiers to support Operation Lone Star in Texas, and we have proudly and readily supported our own state’s efforts in similar roles here in Florida.”
“The Florida State Guard is prepared to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with state agency partners in direct support of our brothers and sisters in Texas grappling with an unprecedented surge of illegal immigration along their border,” said Florida State Guard Director Mark Thieme. “The Florida State Guard is postured to deliver rapid emergency response, public safety operations, and humanitarian assistance — wherever the need arises.”
Since 2021, Florida has provided direct law enforcement and military assistance to Texas, including FLNG, which supported the Texas Military Department through mission sets including static observation points, roving patrols, and engineer assistance with obstacle improvement. FHP has made contact with nearly 150,000 illegal aliens, conducted over 27,000 traffic stops, resulting in 2,102 Human Smuggling or Human Trafficking charges with 2,278 overall arrests.
FDLE has sent rotations of officers to assist the Texas Department of Public Safety with arrests of violent felony suspects including gang members. Suspects were arrested on various Texas state charges including human smuggling, burglary, firearms, smuggling of persons, smuggling of persons with a firearm, child endangerment, escape from federal custody, and possession of controlled substance. FWC has deployed a total of 540 FWC personnel, 525 four-wheel-drive patrol trucks, and 24 vessels.
In Fiscal Year 2023, CBP recorded 2.5 million encounters – surpassing last year’s record. This includes 169 illegal immigrants on the terror watch list attempting to cross the southern border. Since Biden took office, more than 10 million illegal immigrants have crossed the border, including more than 1.7 million known gotaways. In December alone, roughly 260 million lethal doses of fentanyl were seized at the border.
Who is paying for this? Let Texas handle their own problems!
There is typically account keeping for anything like that. Hurricanes are an example. The state of Florida and all the united states have an interest in securing the border. The open border seems to serve a political purpose…..
The cost is minor compared to what it costs to house, feed, and provide medical care to these ILLEGAL immigrants. If they were invading your state, you would all for it and wouldn’t complain about the money.
It’s actually the federal governments responsibility, yet, here we are, and have been for a number of years now over numerous administrations, it’s just been turned up to 11 under the current one imo.
yet a bipartisan Senate deal that ends “catch and release”, allows CBP to close the border at will, toughens asylum rules and speeds up the courts in hearing asylum cases isn’t even being considered for a vote by Speaker Johnson. When re you going to wake up to the fact that Republicans don’t want the border issue fixed because it is the only thing they can run on!
I mentioned numerous administrations fwiw
Uniformed and ignorant might believe that. You left out that the bill you and Joe Biden brag about allows 5,000 across per day that have not applied for anything, no prior paperwork. Read it! And who would trust Biden or any democrat to enforce any law? He’s not enforcing existing law. We never had open borders until Biden. Never. When Joe Ciden took office, we had the most secure border ever. Asylum seekers remained in Mexico and miles of fence had already gone up and more being built. Joe Biden sat for 2 days signing EOs to nullify everything in place with ZERO thought of anything new. 8 Million have illegally crossed since then. Mostly all broke, unskilled, diseased or criminals. Diseases we haven’t seen in the U.S. for decades are now back, crime is through the roof, major cities are in ruin with 8 million non-working mouths to feed. Yeah, democrats have done a fine job of wrecking things!
WASHINGTON — Leading Senate Republicans are warning their House colleagues not to play political games with the current immigration negotiations because they won’t get a better deal down the road under a potential second Donald Trump presidency.
“To those who think that if President Trump wins, which I hope he does, that we can get a better deal — you won’t,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters Wednesday. “You got to get 60 votes in the United States Senate.”
“To my Republican friends: To get this kind of border security without granting a pathway to citizenship is really unheard of. So if you think you’re going to get a better deal next time, in ’25, if President Trump’s president, Democrats will be expecting a pathway to citizenship for that,” he said. “So to my Republican colleagues, this is a historic moment to reform the border.”
Hey DJ Jizz-breathe. All that bend over Biden needs to do is re-instate the executive orders that were put in place by Trump. Biden canceled those executive orders around the time he was canceling the pipeline. By the way gas is going back up, which I know doesn’t affect you because I saw you leaving your trailer, next to the landfill, the other day with an extension cord pugged in your car as you went down your dirt road.
“A federal judge ruled on Tuesday night that the Trump administration’s strictest asylum policy to date is illegal.
A rule put in place in 2019 prohibited immigrants from claiming asylum in the United States if they did not first try to claim it in a country they passed through on their way to the U.S. border.
U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly of Washington, D.C., ruled in favor of immigrant nonprofits and asylum-seekers who argued that the rule known as the “third-country asylum rule,” which was jointly published by the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security, violated the Immigration and Nationality Act….”
Upside: executive order power on the border was only allowed due to pandemic (Title42), which officially ended May 11, 2023. Educate yourself.
Bless your heart, Jeff. Biden does not make laws. Maybe educating yourself on how our government works rather than parroting off talking-head quotes you hear on the news and passing them off as your own would do you better?! Congress introduces and approves/denies legislation, not the President. Considering there is no limit to the number of people per day that can claim asylum and get to stay in USA, I say a 5k, or optional 4k, limit is a great start. But hey, do ahead and give Dear Leader a tickle of his balls in sinking the only meaningful immigration reform ever offered by neither party in over 30 years, just so that it doesn’t occur on BIden’s watch . Republicans targeting Republicans is what will sink this deal.
That “deal” normalizes illegal entries. Not designed to solve the problem, but hide the problem.
You just proved that Common Sense isn’t common, in relation to your own situation.
The threshold for the Border “emergency shut down” would be a minimum of 5K of illegal immigrants on one day – and there’s no guarantee that anything constructive would happen anyway – except for the issuance of a minimum of +50k new green cards to illegal immigrants as authorized in the deal.
It’s nonsense to think that 1.8M illegal immigrants per year coming across the border illegally makes sense – the individual population of 1/3rd of the States in the USA!
TruthBTold you just sank your own logic in your post!!! BWHAHAHAHA! If “1.8M illegal immigrants per year coming across the border, than shutting down the border at 5k, or at 4k based on presidential discretion, means the proposed legislation will cut down “illegals”.
Are you forgetting that Alejandro Mayorkas, who is in charge of keeping Americans SAFE is a Democrat. Or that NY Congressman Jerry Nadler, a Democrat who has dual citizenship with Israel, is a fierce defender of a wide open boarder. You are spouting some outdated, incorrect propaganda. Get with the new news.
Oh, since they are positioned at the border, TX should have to keep, feed and house 8 million new broke, unskilled, unhealthy migrants with a great numbered diseased, criminal, gangs or drug carriers. Folks that never would have been here if Biden did his job and enforced existing U.S. law.
Both Red states are swimming in budget surpluses, thank you.
According to the GAO, each illegal immigrant in the USA costs the Taxpayer $78k/yr. Meanwhile LEGAL immigrants cost the Taxpayer -$28k – yep, a NEGATIVE cost.
Keeping immigration legal, by shutting off the illegal, is a lot cheaper.
Good job! Close the border and deport every single illegal parasite.
Gee, if only there IS a bill that would not only allow CBP to close the border at will, but end “catch and release,” tighten asylum criteria and speed up asylum cases in the courts! Oh wait, there is and your “red state” politician in control of the House won’t even bring it up for a vote. All because your “deal leader” would rather keep the status quo through 2025 in hopes of a win in November. Let that sink in.
All false. Just another fake dem smoke screen/ huge laughable lie!
Why did Biden wreck the system in place to begin with? Why does he have to rebuild a system that he destroyed?
And he would enforce that? LOL! Sleepy Senile Xiden falls frequently, shakes hands with ghosts, mixes up people daily, slurs incoherently a dozen times a day and is unfit to manage a grocery store, much less a large country. He currently has some of the lowest approval numbers ever recorded with prices overall up 23% in 3 years! He’s worse than Jimmy C!
“A federal judge ruled on Tuesday night that the Trump administration’s strictest asylum policy to date is illegal.
A rule put in place in 2019 prohibited immigrants from claiming asylum in the United States if they did not first try to claim it in a country they passed through on their way to the U.S. border.
U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly of Washington, D.C., ruled in favor of immigrant nonprofits and asylum-seekers who argued that the rule known as the “third-country asylum rule,” which was jointly published by the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security, violated the Immigration and Nationality Act….”
Well, that was because of the emergency powers enacted due to the pandemic (Title 42), which all ended when the COVID-19 pandemic officially ended May 11, 2023. Bet the talking head you lifted that line of BS from neglected to include that!
Inflation down to just over 3%, 2023 wage increases highest in two decades. Unemployment at 54-year-low. DJIA, S&P500 set new high record two days ago. Poor, poor, pitiful you.
Maybe the national guard can take the illegal criminals that have invaded Florida with them. Just throw them back over the razor wire that Texas installed. Red states need to stick together.
Meanwhile, a bipartisan Senate border deal that ends “catch and release”, allows CBP to close the border as needed, raises the standard for asylum, speeds up court in hearing asylum cases and funds additional CPB personnel , ISN’T EVEN BEING CONSIDERED FOR A VOTE! Yep, all that talk about “tougher border security” was a grin-f*ck by the GOP in duping you to vote for them. But tell me again how this is “Biden’s fault”?
Biden screwed up the border day 1 in 2021 and every day since. He systematically destroyed policies in place and shut down the continued building of a wall. These 180 countries were all these illegals are coming from are just emptying their prisons, mental wards, etc and p it pushing their trash upon us. Just like Castro did to Florida years ago.
Aww Ronnie, you ain’t going to be President! Instead of wasting Florida tax dollars in Texas, why don’t you use your influence to get your party to vote on the bipartisan border deal from the Senate that ends “catch and release,” allows CBP to close the border at will, toughens asylum requirements and speeds up the asylum courts. Either you have no influence or respect inside your own party, or you rather keep using a bucket to stop a tidal wave…all so you don’t make “dear leader” upset.
The border deal would not even need to be thought about or considered for vote if Biden would gave left the policies and wall in place when he office. You can’t hide that fact. Hell he was begging illegals to come to the country before he took office. Fact again.
Get some!
Texas and Florida may very well be on the same team if/when a civil split in this country occurs. It will happen eventually I can guarantee you that. Perhaps we can get Louisiana to jump on board and have a continuous territory from which to secede from the fast failing United States of America.
How’d that go for you last time lose…. I mean, Johnny.
I love our Gov.!
The fentanyl coming through our unsecured border has killed thousands of men, women and children.
Stop the political blame game and shut this border.
Yep, fentanyl deaths equate to a fully loaded 767 crashing every day with all souls lost. Can you imagine the outrage is a 767 crashed every day if all onboard were killed?
The vast majority of fentanyl comes into the US at legal ports of entry, smuggled by US citizens.
Hallelujah! And just when Dems in Congress voted against holding illegal responsible for DUI cases, folks! When will voters send their insurance bills to their local DNC branches? 🤡👹🍦🍦🍦D
Gee, maybe the City Commission can send police.
What a grandstanding clown in a party that does nothing but grandstanding, from it’s demagogue governors like him to Congress.
There’s a bill being held up in Congress right now by the allies of Ronnie which increases security on the border and which a few still sane GOP senators agree will be significant and more than they would expect in an all GOP federal government (compromise and politics being what they are, you need 60 votes in the senate to pass anything). The problem? The GOP and especially their low life cult leader want to keep the issue alive rather than help solve it.
When is our governor going to act like a responsible leader and not a loser clown pulling one stunt after another for publicity? Not yet apparently.
I love our Gov.! Looking forward to his Presidency as well.
Did you forget to take your Prozac today?
Maybe now he’ll focus on doing the job he was elected to do.
When did he ever stop? Seriously.
Dear Ronnie: Congratulations on being elected President of the United States last week. The border is now your responsibility. Send the guard to Texas. Also send the guard to California with authorization to shoot on sight any woke lib Dem school librarian who carries a book on your neocon “banned” list. You have a country to run, so I understand you cannot be bothered to appoint a fifth one of your loyal Republican lackies to the Gainesville GRU oversight board. You do not have time to manage your state. I understand, President Ronnie, you have to micromanage a whole country.