This week,in Arizona, Gov. Ron DeSantis showcased his stances on immigration as he visited the southern border.
Trying to catch former President Donald Trump in the expanding Republican primary field, DeSantis “highlighted Florida’s successful actions to combat illegal immigration within the state and along the southern border” and pointed the blame for the border criss at President Joe Biden.
“Joe Biden is derelict in the performance of his duties and refuses to uphold the borders of our nation,” said DeSantis. “In Florida, we’re stepping up even as the federal government falls down on the job. We enacted strong legislation to combat illegal immigration, sent law enforcement officers and equipment to the border, and have dedicated resources to divert migrants to sanctuary jurisdictions. Today we’re taking Florida’s no-nonsense approach to border enforcement nationwide.”
“Florida is leading the charge to stop the chaos at the southwest border and force Biden to follow public-safety immigration laws,” said Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody. “We continue to beat Biden in federal court over his unlawful mass-release policies, our law enforcement officers are helping their brethren in law enforcement fight the proliferation in crime caused by the broken border, and our great Governor is strengthening state laws to further protect Florida from the public-safety threats and financial strain caused by the unprecedented illegal immigration that the federal government is facilitating.”
Sheriffs from the Southwest and Florida praised DeSantis.
“This is not about politics, folks. This is about doing what is right. Which everyone in this room that works for government has taken an oath to do,” said Cochise County, Arizona Sheriff Mark Dannels, Sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona. “So thank you guys for what you do. We pledge to you both and all our governors, all our sheriffs, all our law enforcement, our prosecutors, our county attorneys, our mayors to work united to fix these borders, secure our borders, and get America back.”
“I can’t imagine what the people who live on the border are going through, because I do know what’s going on through the rest of the country while our president and the administration stands silent and allows the people of this country to be victimized,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, Sheriff. “That is simply unacceptable. When people are safe and they feel safe, they thrive. And our great state does tremendous. But we need to do that across the United States of America.”
“In Florida, we could sit back and say, well, we’ll fight this in our backyard. But instead, we say let’s fight it on the front. Let’s join together, let’s be united,” said Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey. “That’s what this is about. Governor DeSantis asked us to put our resources in to put our money where our mouth is. He’s done that. He is standing here today saying Florida is in this fight and Florida understands this is not just impacting you locally in Cochise County or the other border communities. It’s impacting us. Thank you, Governor, I am honored to stand with you and our attorney general.”
While in Arizona, DeSantis announced “an inter-state law enforcement partnership to bring Florida’s successful anti-illegal immigration policies and practices to more American communities” which “includes a training program developed by the Florida Highway Patrol and the Florida National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force which will be made available to law enforcement agencies across the United States” and “will explain Florida’s response to the ‘Biden Border Crisis’ and train law enforcement officers in multi-agency criminal interdiction.”
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) quickly fired back on DeSantis as Ammar Moussa, a spokesman for the DNC, took aim at the Florida governor.
“Ron DeSantis’ latest political stunt is a Florida taxpayer-funded trip to stand alongside a right-wing sheriff who pals around with hate groups and repeatedly lies about the border. This comes on the heels of Ron DeSantis, again, using human beings as political pawns to pander to the extreme MAGA Republican base. Using taxpayer dollars to exploit desperate people, including children, for his own political gain tells you exactly what kind of president Ron DeSantis would be,” said Moussa.
The DNC portrayed Dannels as a :right-wing sheriff who “uses frequent right-wing media appearances to demonize immigrants and push falsehoods about the border.” The DNC also insisted “Dannels has ties to anti-immigrant group Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which is classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center” and called him a “member of the far-right ‘constitutional sheriffs’ movement, which claims sheriffs are the highest legitimate legal authority in the country and can refuse to enforce laws they believe are unconstitutional.”
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