Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is set to join his Texas counterpart Greg Abbott in his defiance of the federal government over immigration enforcement.
Concretely, DeSantis said on Thursday that he's readying 1,000 troops from the state's National Guard and intends to send them to Texas to assist them in their actions in the southern border.
"Our reinforcements will help Texas to add additional barriers, including razor wire along the border," said DeSantis. The troops that answer to Abbott have been erecting razor wire fences despite a Supreme Court ruling that allowed the Biden administration to cut it down.
"Florida has been assisting at the southern border since 2021, and we are sending more support," added DeSantis.
Florida has been assisting at the southern border since 2021, and we are sending more support from both the @FLStateGuard & up to one battalion of @FLGuard. Their mission will be to assist Texas in erecting barriers at the border to stop the invasion of illegal aliens.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 1, 2024
Texas authorities claim the state is using its "right of self defense" given the Biden administration's "failure to fulfill" its "constitutional duty to enforce federal laws protecting States, including immigration laws on the books right now."
"Texas' razor wire is an effective deterrent to the illegal crossings Biden encourages. I will continue to defend Texas' constitutional authority to secure the border and prevent the Biden Admin from destroying our property," said Abbott after the Supreme Court ruling, which allowed federal authorities to cut the razor wire while a lawsuit over the issue continues.
The issue is just one of many border-related disputes between Texas and the Biden administration. Last week, the latter sent a letter demanding that federal agents be given full access to Shelby Park.
Concretely, the chief lawyer for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requested Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to clarify which parts of Shelby Park are accessible and inaccessible to Border Patrol.
Shelby Park is used by Border Patrol agents to inspect and hold migrants and, according to DHS' top lawyer Jonathan Meyer, National Guard forces have been preventing federal operations to apprehend migrants and rescue those who might be in distress. Moreover, DHS argues that state law enforcement officials have been arresting migrants who cross into the U.S.
Texas has also passed a bill allowing law enforcement to arrest and deport migrants who cross the border illegally. Known as SB4, the law makes it a misdemeanor to illegally cross the border and a second-degree felony to do so for a second time. Punishments for this latter case range between 180 days in jail to 20 years in prison. The law also allows judges to order that undocumented people "return to the foreign nation from which they entered."
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