DeSantis Offers to Deploy Florida State Guard to Texas Border Fight

January 26, 2024 TruthUSA

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday he is willing to send members of the Florida State Guard to Texas to assist with Gov. Greg Abbott’s declared invasion of illegal immigrants from Mexico.

DeSantis, among 25 Republican governors who said Thursday they’re backing Abbott’s right under the Constitution to defend Texas’ sovereignty, said the State Guard might be a better option than the Florida National Guard because it could not be federalized by President Joe Biden.

“We may do more National Guard, but we may be willing to do the Florida State Guard,” DeSantis, who exited the GOP presidential primary race following the Jan. 14 Iowa caucuses, said during a news conference in Kissimmee, Florida. “The president would not be able to federalize the State Guard.

“If we need to stand up and ensure the sovereignty of the country, then we need to do that. So, they can count on me to help from the state of Florida.”

Florida lawmakers are working on legislation to remove a requirement the Florida State Guard be used exclusively within the state. Nearly every state has laws authorizing State Guards, and 21 states and Puerto Rico have active units, according to the National Guard Magazine.

The Biden administration has been trying to undermine Texas’ methods for deterring illegal immigrants from crossing into the state from Mexico. The Supreme Court ruled Monday that Customs and Border Patrol agents can cut down razor wire installed by the Texas National Guard along the Rio Grande River that separates the U.S. from Mexico.

Yet, Abbott is having more razor wire installed amid calls from Democrats for Biden to federalize the Texas National Guard.

“What’s happening in Texas is not just a Texas issue. It’s an American issue,” DeSantis said. “We’ve had over 8 million people pour into this country illegally just in the last three years. You’ve got people from China. You’ve got people from Iran and other parts of the Middle East, North Africa, Russia. This is not just people coming from Mexico.

“Anyone that wants to do us harm will look at that border as the easiest, soft underbelly this country has right now. If the federal government is saying that it is not only not going to enforce the law but it’s going to somehow prohibit a state from faithfully enforcing the law, that is not the way this Constitution was designed.

“The states being able to step up to ensure the sovereignty of their territory and the sovereignty of our country is something that’s appropriate and something that the Founders envisioned if you had a derelict executive in the federal government.”