SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, will make his first visit to the southern border of the United States on Wednesday. He will be stepping into an increasingly heated immigration debate at a time when the Republican field for the 2024 election is growing.
Jeremy Redfern is the governor’s spokesperson. According to him, DeSantis and Mark Dannels will meet in Sierra Vista. Dannels, like DeSantis has been a vocal critic of President Joe Biden’s border policies.
DeSantis’ visit comes as the immigration fight intensifies at the beginning of the GOP primaries. DeSantis has taken a position on the right of Donald Trump who, during his 2016 campaign and his time as president, focused heavily on immigration.
DeSantis has repeatedly praised Trump’s border policies, including as a tweet from 2021. But he recently tried to contrast himself with Trump by arguing that he did not do enough to improve border security during his four-year tenure.
After days of allegations from California leaders, a Florida official confirmed on Tuesday the state had arranged for migrants flying to Sacramento, California over the past week. In a written statement, a spokesperson from Florida’s Division of Emergency Management stated that all migrants went of their free will. “Through written and verbal consent, these volunteer indicated they wanted go to California.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on NBC’s TODAY show that he believes Florida officials have committed crimes by sending the migrants to California and that he is investigating the matter.
DeSantis did not comment on the latest flights. However, on the campaign trail, he has praised other controversial migrant removals that Florida helped organize last year from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, a wealthy vacation destination. He signed last month a comprehensive crackdown on illegal migration that was passed by the Republican-led Florida Legislature. It included $12 million to fund similar migrant flight relocations.
DeSantis made a surprise visit to Arizona, a key swing state. This was after stops in Iowa and New Hampshire. He will attend several fundraising events in Texas, make a stop in Oklahoma, and address the North Carolina Republican Party Convention before heading to Nevada on Saturday.
Even Democratic Mayors of Large Cities, most notably Eric Adams from New York, have criticized the Biden Administration for the recent influx migrants that has stretched shelter spaces across the nation.
Over the last year, border apprehensions have reached record levels. The latest Customs and Border Protection figures show that the number of border apprehensions has dropped by more than 70% in the last year since the end Title 42. This was the health policy from the Covid era that made it easier to expel asylum seekers.
After the end of Title 42, critics of the Biden Administration had predicted the opposite – a new massive influx of migrants to the border. After Title 42 was ended on May 11 there was a spike in numbers, but they quickly leveled out and then dropped dramatically.
Cochise County, a mining region of the Old West where Wyatt Earp fought his famous gunfight at OK Corral, is now the scene of another fight. This time it’s over immigration. Conservative politicians have found it easy to voice their concerns about border policies.
Recently, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and failed Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidates Kari Lake had photo ops in the region. DeSantis did not travel here, but his office confirmed that he sent law enforcement personnel to Arizona at the Governor’s request in 2021.
Separately, DeSantis has sent over 1,100 Florida National Guard and law enforcement members to Texas in the last month, to assist with Operation Lone Star. This border initiative is led by Governor Greg Abbott. Greg Abbott.
