DeSantis threatens to ‘send the bill to Biden’ for uptick in Florida’s migrant costs
Heather Hamilton
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Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) blasted President Joe Biden and his administration’s immigration policy as his state is experiencing a surge in immigrants.
DeSantis on Friday declared a state of emergency following the recent arrival of immigrants in the Florida Keys. The Republican governor issued an executive order that activated the National Guard and other state resources “to protect Floridians from the dangerous impacts of the Biden Border Crisis.”
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When asked at a news conference on Thursday for his response to critics suggesting his recent actions were a political stunt, DeSantis said it was “interesting.”
“The Coast Guard actually requested the state’s assistance — they had all these vessels coming,” DeSantis said, adding that Florida is “filling in the gaps” where the federal government is failing. “We’ve been very aggressive, really across the board, at mitigating the damage from Biden’s disastrous border policies, and part of it is just what they’re doing at the border, but part of it is the message that’s gone out to say, ‘The rules don’t matter. Just show up, and you’re fine.’ And you can’t run a country like that, and it’s caused a lot of problems.”
DeSantis promised his continued support as the impact of the migrant surge is mitigated, even threatening to bill the White House for the costs.
“We are going to clear the vessels free of charge for those residents because it wasn’t their fault,” he said. “Maybe we’ll send the bill to Biden, we’ll see, but the reality is this is just not the way you run a country.”
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DeSantis’s executive order has deployed air assets, including airplanes and helicopters, and has expanded Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission marine patrol to support water interdictions, among other measures.
The governor said that since August, authorities have interdicted more than 8,000 people in Florida’s territorial waters alone.