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DeSantis Deploying Florida National Guard to Texas

By    |   Thursday, 01 February 2024 12:22 PM EST

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that he will send members of the Florida National Guard and the Florida State Guard to assist Texas in its efforts at the southern border. 

Florida will offer a battalion of National Guard members to be deployed based on the needs in Texas, said DeSantis, who last month dropped his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

The 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 deployed, and DeSantis noted in a statement that more law enforcement resources are coming.

"States have every right to defend their sovereignty and we are pleased to increase our support to Texas as the Lone Star State works to stop the invasion across the border," he said. "Our reinforcements will help Texas to add additional barriers, including razor wire along the border. We don't have a country if we don't have a border.”

Maj. Gen. John Haas, the adjutant general of Florida, said the deployments are not a new mission, as Florida has supported border security missions in Texas, including 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," Haas said. "We have proudly and readily supported our own state's efforts in similar roles here in Florida."

Florida State Guard Director Mark Thieme said his branch is prepared to stand "shoulder-to-shoulder" with its state agency partners in Texas who are "grappling with an unprecedented surge of illegal immigration along their border. The Florida State Guard is postured to deliver rapid emergency response, public safety operations, and humanitarian assistance — wherever the need arises."

DeSantis' office noted that since 2021, when President Joe Biden took office, the state has been providing direct law enforcement and military assistance to Texas, including with the Florida National Guard in support of the Texas Military Department in several missions, including with roving patrols, engineer assistance, and observation points. 

Further, the Florida Highway Patrol has made contact with nearly 150,000 illegal aliens while conducting over 27,000 traffic stops, resulting in 2,102 human smuggling or human trafficking charges with 2,278 overall arrests, the governor's office said.

It was also noted that the federal Customs and Border Patrol recorded 2.5 million encounters at the border in fiscal year 2023, including 169 people on the terrorism watchlist trying to come into the U.S. across the southern border. 

"More than 10 million illegal immigrants have crossed the border, including more than 1.7 million known got-aways," the statement said, adding that in December alone, "roughly 260 million lethal doses of fentanyl were seized at the border."

Sandy Fitzgerald

Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics. 

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that he will send members of the Florida National Guard and the Florida State Guard to assist Texas in its efforts at the southern border. 
desantis, florida, national guard, texas, border
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2024-22-01
Thursday, 01 February 2024 12:22 PM
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