Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday he is sending 50 state law enforcement officers to the southern border in Texas to help deal with the surge in illegal immigration there.
"We look forward to seeing them in action. Hopefully, I will be able to get out there at some point and wish them well when they are on the ground," DeSantis, a Republican, said Friday, adding that the officers will be ready to work on Monday, the Miami Herald reported.
DeSantis said he could not go into detail about the deployment or how it will be paid for, but he said he is not expecting any federal money.
"That is still a point of discussion," DeSantis said at a press conference in Pensacola. "Typically, if someone would help us, you know, we would pick up some of their funding and so that is how we would hope that it goes. But we do not anticipate getting any federal funds."
Earlier this month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, also a Republican, described the situation at the border as ''overwhelming'' to state and federal officers, with some areas experiencing more than a 1,000% increase in arrests of migrants entering the country illegally.
At a press conference earlier this month, Abbott said the state was putting up $250 million as a ''down payment'' for constructing its own wall on the southern border.
''The problems people are suffering on the border continue to get worse,'' Abbott said. ''They are getting worse for the people who live in that region, and they are getting worse for people living in all the regions across the entire state of Texas.''
He also said Texas was asking other states to help with personnel to manage the situation.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a Republican and former governor, told Newsmax at that time that he agrees with DeSantis’ decision to send officers to Texas.
''I've talked to sheriffs around the state. I talked to two sheriffs today in Florida. What they are saying is, there is a significant amount of fentanyl that is coming across the border and getting into Florida. Right now. We're losing people,'' Scott said. ''I can't imagine what [President Joe] Biden is doing here. He sits there. American citizens are losing their lives because of his actions on the southern border.''
The 50 officers will come mainly from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Highway Patrol and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, DeSantis said.
Volunteer officers from the various state sheriff's departments would not be sent to Texas but would fill in within the state for the officers who are going to the border, he said.