Ron DeSantis announced this Thursday that he will deploy a total of 1,000 troops from the Florida National Guard and the Florida State Guard to assist at the border between Mexico and Texas:
Governor Ron DeSantis Sends Additional Support to Help Texas Fortify the Border https://t.co/1Kgn5akRl7
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 1, 2024
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
DeSantis says that "states have to band together" against the border crisis
After withdrawing from the presidential campaign, DeSantis once again showed his concern about the border crisis. That was one of his key issues during the campaign and it still worries him. That is why the governor said during a press conference that he did not hesitate to send help to Texas:
The goal is to help Texas fortify this border, help them strengthen the barricades, help them add barriers, help them add the wire that they need to so that we can stop this invasion once and for all. And the states have to band together.
DeSantis announced his decision at Jacksonville's Cecil Airport. He was accompanied by Major General John D. Haas, the adjutant general of Florida who assured that the Florida National Guard was prepared for the mission:
This is not a new mission for us. For several years we have supported border security missions in Texas, to include both federal and state deployments. Last spring the Florida National Guard was one of the first in the nation to deploy rotations of soldiers to support Operation Lone Star in Texas, and we have proudly and readily supported our own state’s efforts in similar roles here in Florida.
The 1,000 National Guard soldiers will join 90 other agents sent by Florida from the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).
They won't be the only ones. DeSantis concluded his speech by stating that more Florida law enforcement agents "are standing by and ready to deploy as requested by Texas state officials."
