Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that starting next Monday there will be over 50 additional state law enforcement officers sent to Texas to help with the worsening crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Last week, DeSantis became the first governor to answer the plea for help from fellow GOP governors Greg Abbott (R-Texas) and Doug Ducey (R-Ariz.) by authorizing the deployment of law enforcement in order to assist with helping to secure the border.
The first wave of officers that will be sent to the southern border to address the crisis include officials with the Department of Law Enforcement, Fish and Wildlife, and Florida Highway Patrol, the Republican governor said during a press briefing.
During the conference, DeSantis also mentioned funding for the operation is still a “point of discussion.”
“Typically, if someone would help us, we would pick up some of their funding … that’s how we would hope that it goes, but we don’t anticipate getting any federal funds, no,” the governor explained.
DeSantis also noted that the request from fellow GOP governors comes amid a rise in methamphetamine crossing the border, which is increasingly causing harm not only at the southern border but also in Florida and other parts of the country.
“I had met just weeks ago with some of our sheriff’s up in north Florida and their number one concern is all the meth that’s coming in,” DeSantis said, adding that this has had “a real effect” on Florida communities.
Christina Pushaw, the press secretary to DeSantis, told The Epoch Times last week that helping fellow Americans in a moment of need is always the right thing to do.
“It’s undeniable that the border crisis is out of control,” Pushaw said. “The governors of other states have sent resources to Florida in the past to help respond to natural disasters. With the federal government unable or unwilling to enforce our laws and secure our border, Florida is ready to step up to the plate and do our part.”
Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford also expressed a similar view with The Epoch Times, explaining he sees the cry for help from the governors of Texas and Arizona to secure the border as an opportunity to repay the debt he owes after hurricane Michael devastated Bay County and many sheriffs from other states came to their aid.
“So we’re going to volunteer to be the first ones there to help,” Ford said.
Despite the overwhelming support DeSantis has received from Florida’s law enforcement, some Democrats have criticized the governor’s move.
Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.), one of two Democrat declared candidates to run for the position of governor in 2022, called the decision to send Florida law enforcement to the border a “political stunt.” Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the second declared Democrat candidate for governor, wrote on Twitter: “Florida’s current governor just makes controversies up to get on Fox News.”
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno told The Epoch Times that Floridians have to help in securing the border even though it isn’t a border state, as it will help to “stop the flow of narcotics that end up in our state and ravage our communities.”
Marceno said fentanyl cases have gone up 230 percent in Lee County over the past six months and there has been a 3,000 percent increase in the number of sexual predators coming across U.S. borders.
“We’re not going to allow it,” Marceno asserted. “Florida’s residents are going to be safe and secure.”
Patricia Tolson contributed to this report.