Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promised that states would be equal partners in enforcing border policy if wins the 2024 general election.
“When I am president, we are going to unleash the states, they are going to be equal partners with enforcing immigration law,” DeSantis said in a new interview with Glenn Beck.
DeSantis said if someone comes over the border into a state illegally, the state’s government should be able to send them back.
“Why are we in this big process where people are going to court and stuff, it’s absurd,” DeSantis said. “I think the reality is if they did more, they would face the DOJ and all this other stuff.”
The Florida governor said the notion that securing the border is a sole federal responsibility is not true.
“We’ll be an administration that works hand-in-hand with the states to secure our border, they’re a force multiplier for the federal government,” DeSantis said. “People say it’s a sole federal responsibility… if we have a strong border policy a state can’t let people in of course, but if we have a policy and it’s not being enforced fully, why should the states not do it, they should absolutely be able to enforce the law, we’ll make that happen.”
DeSantis’ comments come after the Biden administration granted more than 400,000 Venezuelans work permits, while at the same time sending 800 new troops to help with the migrant influx at the southern border.
Biden has faced widespread criticism from Republicans over his border policies, namely governors in GOP-led states, who have told the president that “shelters are full” and “food pantries are empty.”
A letter from 25 governors, led by Montana’s Greg Gianforte, asked the administration for information on where the migrants were admitted and when they were relocated. At the same time, the governors asked for real-time border numbers on asylum claim timelines, qualification rates and successful deportations.
At the same time, the governors accused Biden of encouraging “illegal immigration.”
Meanwhile, Democrats praised Biden’s move to expand work permit expansion, underscoring the heated debate over border policy that has and continues to divide both parties.