EAGLE PASS, Texas – Vowing to “stop the invasion,” Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday unveiled a wide-ranging border security plan at an event in Texas along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Joe Biden’s dereliction of duty has made our southern border a disaster zone,” DeSantis charged as he announced the first formal policy proposal rollout of his month-old campaign for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
DeSantis claimed that “the Biden Administration is the critical link in an illegal transnational human smuggling syndicate.”
The governor pledged if elected to the White House, he would secure the border once and for all by building the wall, holding the Mexican drug cartels accountable, and working with states to enforce the law.
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Illegal immigration and border security have long been top of mind for Republican voters, and GOP leaders for two years have heavily criticized the Biden administration over the surge in border crossings by migrants.
Combating illegal immigration is expected to be a top priority for DeSantis, who has made a number of anti-illegal immigration moves as governor of the Sunshine State. Earlier this year, he signed a sweeping anti-illegal immigration bill that mandates the use of E-Verify by employers, ups penalties for human and drug smuggling — and bars local jurisdictions from issuing IDs to illegal immigrants.
He has controversially sent illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and most recently California as part of a program to relocate illegal immigrants. He recently secured a $24 million boost in funding for that program.
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Florida also responded to a request for help from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott by deploying law enforcement – including National Guard troops – to the border, as well as drones and other resources.
DeSantis visited the border earlier this month, receiving briefings and touring incomplete parts of the border wall — and last week he announced a nationwide 90-sheriff coalition to join forces to protect communities against the effects of the crisis.
The governor’s policy rollout – at an event in Eagle Pass, Texas, an area that has seen some of the busiest migrant traffic the past two years – comes as the border crisis is still ongoing, with over 204,000 encounters in May. The influx comes even as the Biden administration has touted a sharp drop in encounters since it put policies in place coinciding with the end of the Title 42 public health order on May 11.
Among the specifics in his policy proposals are ending catch-and-release.
“If you cross illegally, you will be detained until your hearing date,” a release from his campaign states.
And DeSantis said he’ll reimpose Remain in Mexico. “If you arrive at a port of entry on the US-Mexico border claiming asylum, you will not enter the United States while your claim is being processed,” his campaign wrote.
DeSantis is currently a distant second in the latest GOP presidential nomination polls, trailing former President Donald Trump by double digits, but ahead of the rest of the large field of contenders.
While blasting Biden, DeSantis also seemed to take aim at Trump – without mentioning the former president – for failing to finish building the border wall during his four years in the White House.
“For decades, leaders from both parties have produced empty promises on border security, and now it is time to act to stop the invasion once and for all,” DeSantis said. “As president, I will declare a national emergency on day one and will not rest until we build the wall, shut down illegal entry, and win the war against the drug cartels. No excuses. We will get it done.”
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DeSantis has increasingly in recent weeks targeted Trump over border security.
The former president, in a speech on Friday, touted that “we had the most successful and strongest border in American history.”
While not directly criticizing DeSantis, the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. took aim at the governor ahead of his border event on Monday.
The group spotlighted a two-year-old tweet from DeSantis in which he wrote that “the disaster at our border is a direct result of the Biden Administration ending Trump border policies that curbed illegal immigration, the influx of drugs, and human smuggling.”
DeSantis unveiled his border proposal the day after his campaign released a video promoting the event, which described the border as a “complete disaster” and describes how “dangerous criminals and deadly drugs are pouring into the country.”
The governor also toured the border on Sunday, ahead of his policy rollout.
Fox News’ Alexandria Hernandez contributed to this report
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