Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told Newsmax on Thursday that his state is glad to have the help of the National Guardsmen and State Guardsmen that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has deployed to support Texas' efforts to repel illegal immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
"We're glad to have all the help we can get because our men and women have been down there for a long time on long shifts, away from their families, away from their jobs, in the National Guard," Patrick said during an appearance on Newsmax's "The Chris Salcedo Show."
DeSantis said Thursday that Florida will offer a battalion of National Guard members to be deployed based on Texas' needs.
Patrick said that he visited Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, last Friday, when there was speculation that the Border Patrol "might show up and cut the wire," as they were temporarily granted authority to do by the U.S. Supreme Court.
"The governor was out of the country, so I was the acting governor at the time," he said. "I wanted to be sure that I would be there, and they didn't come and cut the wire. We didn't want a confrontation with them and they obviously didn't want one with us.
"Had they cut the wire, we would have just repaired it and put up more wire. I said, at the time, 'They're gonna need a lot of wire clippers because we have a whole lot of wire, and we're continuing to put it up.' The Supreme Court didn't tell us to take it down; they just said that they could cut it.
"Well, they didn't show up, and I'm glad they didn't because there's no reason to be at Shelby Park," he said of the federal government. "Two months ago, 2,000 to 3,000 people were crossing the border there into Shelby Park, and since we put up the razor wire and our containers below it, I think yesterday there were six.
"And when I was there last Friday, there weren't any who had crossed that day when I left. But, when I left there, I ran into some law enforcement. I walked up and said, 'Hello.' I said, 'Where are you from?' They said 'Florida,' so there was already a contingent there on Friday that had come down."
The Florida deployments join the more than 90 officers from Florida's Highway Patrol, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the Department of Law Enforcement who have already been dispatched to Texas, with more on the way, according to DeSantis.
Patrick said that Texas welcomes the backing of other conservative-led states and that it "sends a strong message to this president and to America" that the red states are "united."
"Because when you have a situation where the number one issue on people's minds in the Iowa caucuses [is the] border or New Hampshire [is the] border, this is a national problem, not just a Texas problem," he said. "Glad to have the help."
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