Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has announced plans to send over 1,100 National Guard soldiers and law enforcement officers to Texas to assist with border security between the United States and Mexico.[0] This comes after Texas Governor Greg Abbott released a letter requesting assistance from fellow governors to provide aid at the border and absorb all of the costs.[1] Florida has offered to send hundreds of law enforcement officers and National Guard soldiers to help “defend the southern border.”[2]
The Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) allows states to assist each other during emergencies, and both Texas and Florida are part of that agreement.[3] At the onset of the migrant crisis in 2021, DeSantis provided law enforcement assistance to both Texas and Arizona.[0]
The aid being offered by Florida includes 800 state National Guard members, 200 law enforcement officers in teams of 40, and five aircraft. The state assets identified as available to send to the border include 101 Highway Patrol Troopers, 200 Florida Department of Law Enforcement officers, 20 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers, 800 Florida National Guard soldiers, 20 Florida Department of Emergency Management employees, five “fixed wing aircraft,” and two aviation crew teams, two mobile command vehicles with their command teams, 17 unmanned aerial vehicles and support teams, and 10 boats.[1]
Governor Abbott on Monday announced the deployment of the new Texas Tactical Border Force to respond to the growing border crisis.[4] With President Biden ending Title 42, Texas is enhancing its unprecedented border security efforts with the tactical deployment of hundreds of Texas National Guard soldiers to join the thousands already deployed as part of Operation Lone Star and serve on the new border force for targeted responses as the nation braces for a spike in illegal immigration.[5]
During the pandemic, the Trump administration implemented Title 42 as a measure to restrict cross-border travel and contain the transmission of Covid-19.[6] It allowed immigration and border authorities to immediately expel migrants without hearing their asylum claims during the declared health emergency.[7] It is set to end on May 13, 2021, and officials have been warning the expiration could attract a surge of migrants and worsen an already challenging humanitarian crisis at the southern border.[8]
DeSantis and Abbott have long criticized the Biden administration’s border policies and have taken action, including sending migrants to Democrat-run cities.[9] Both governors have criticized the Biden administration’s handling of the border crisis, justifying the need for state-to-state assistance.[2] The Governor of Florida, DeSantis, announced that the state is fully prepared to assist in safeguarding the southern border. In an effort to combat the security crisis in Texas, Florida is mobilizing its resources and assets to lend a hand.[3]
In response to the increasing number of illegal immigrants attempting to cross the border ahead of the Biden Administration’s decision to end Title 42, on Tuesday, the Texas National Guard deployed hundreds of additional soldiers and airmen to hotspots along the Texas-Mexico border.[5] Governor Abbott ordered the deployment of additional soldiers to El Paso, who arrived via four C-130s.[5]
The impacts of Biden’s Border Crisis are felt by communities across the nation, and the federal government’s abdication of duty undermines the sovereignty of our country and the rule of law, said DeSantis in a statement.[10] While Biden ignores the crisis he created, Florida stands ready to help Texas respond to this crisis, he added.[9]
0. “Florida to send National Guard troops to Texas for border security” Military Times, 16 May. 2023, https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2023/05/16/florida-to-send-national-guard-troops-to-texas-for-border-security
1. “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sending troops to US border with Mexico” Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 16 May. 2023, https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/politics/2023/05/16/florida-gov-ron-desantis-sending-troops-to-u-s-border-with-mexico/70224987007/
2. “Florida to send law enforcement to help ‘secure’ Texas border” South Florida Sun Sentinel, 16 May. 2023, https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2023/05/16/florida-to-send-law-enforcement-officers-to-help-secure-texas-border
3. “Florida sending troops, officers to Texas to help with border control” WJXT News4JAX , 16 May. 2023, https://www.news4jax.com/news/florida/2023/05/16/florida-sending-troops-officers-to-texas-to-help-with-border-control
4. “State of Texas: Efforts aim to expand state border enforcement power” KXAN.com, 13 May. 2023, https://www.kxan.com/state-of-texas/state-of-texas-efforts-aim-to-expand-state-border-enforcement-power/
5. “Operation Lone Star Surges Border Resources As Title 42 Ends” Office of the Texas Governor, 12 May. 2023, https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/operation-lone-star-surges-border-resources-as-title-42-ends
6. “East Texas prepares for end of Title 42” KTBS, 11 May. 2023, https://www.ktbs.com/news/east-texas/east-texas-prepares-for-end-of-title-42/article_f859dfd2-efda-11ed-838d-e754ee06afff.html
7. “Texas wires border shut to block 150,000 migrants waiting to pour into US tomorrow” Express, 10 May. 2023, https://www.express.co.uk/news/us/1768648/texas-wires-border-shut-waiting-migrants-title-42-dxus
8. “Asylum officers, Secret Service agents and troops have surged toward border with Title 42’s expiration hours away” KRDO, 11 May. 2023, https://krdo.com/top-stories/2023/05/11/asylum-officers-secret-service-agents-and-troops-have-surged-toward-border-with-title-42s-expiration-hours-away-2/
9. “DeSantis sends Florida law enforcement to Texas border after Abbott request” Axios, 17 May. 2023, https://www.axios.com/2023/05/17/border-florida-idaho-law-enforcement-texas
10. “DeSantis sends Florida law enforcement, National Guard to Texas-Mexico border to help with migrant crisis” Fox News, 16 May. 2023, https://www.foxnews.com/politics/desantis-sends-florida-law-enforcement-national-guard-texas-border-help-migrant-crisis
