The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, wrote on Twitter that President Donald Trump “did not approve, nor would approve” transporting illegal aliens to Florida.
President @realDonaldTrump and I spoke yesterday and confirmed that he did not approve, nor would approve, sending immigrants who illegally cross the border, to Florida. It is not going to happen.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 19, 2019
Immigration facilities at the border have run out of room processing the influx of entering illegal migrants. To decompress the overcrowded facilities, CBP has been transporting these illegals to CBP facilities in other states.
But the Republican governor of Florida was not aware of CBP’s decision to reallocate the illegal migrants.
“As I’ve said, this was not something that came down from the White House, this was something that came out of the agency,” said DeSantis at a press conference on May 17. ” Sometimes this stuff happens. It’s gonna ultimately be something I’m gonna talk with the president about.”
DeSantis has pushed for the prohibition of sanctuary cities in Florida. In May the Florida Senate passed a bill forbidding practices that limit cooperation between local and federal authorities.
DeSantis said that Florida cannot accommodate illegal aliens as he thinks it would “tax our resources, the schools, the health care, law enforcement, state agencies.”
According to AP, the plan was to send about 1,000 immigrants to two counties in Florida per month.
DeSantis Cooperates With Immigration Agencies
The governor clarified that although he disagreed with CBP’s plan, the state works closely with the federal government, “We’re not gonna be like some of these other states that are not allowing federal authorities come into a jail or courthouse,” he said at the press conference.
However, DeSantis did say that Congress is to blame for the problem at the border, for failing to address its faulty policies.
President Donald Trump proposed a major reform of the immigration system on May 16—prioritizing migration on applicants’ merits and skills. The proposal addresses legal immigration and reinforcement of the border.
But Hector Garza, a border patrol agent, told Fox News that House Democrats need to cooperate with Republicans to resolve what was not listed in the proposal.
“President Trump has talked about the dreamers and that he does have a very big heart for dreamers … those are things that are missing in this plan,” said Garza. “However, the Democrats need to come to the negotiation table and deal with President Trump, and negotiate on those items that they do want.”
Dreamers are recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals: an Obama-era executive action that allowed certain, young illegal aliens to stay and work in the country.
“Enough about politics, let’s stop worrying about the election, and let’s start worrying about our country,” said Garza.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
