Florida governor Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday he’s sending over 1,100 law enforcement officers and National Guard members to Texas to secure the southern border.
The news comes amid fears that border officials will be overwhelmed after the Biden administration allowed Title 42 to expire. Texas and Florida have been leading the charge against Biden’s post-Title 42 policies, taking the administration to court over its decision to release migrants into the interior without a court date on overcrowding grounds. A Florida judge ruled against the Biden administration and suspects it is not complying with the court’s order.
“The impacts of Biden’s Border Crisis are felt by communities across the nation, and the federal government’s abdication of duty undermines the sovereignty of our country and the rule of law,” said DeSantis in a statement. “While Biden ignores the crisis he created, Florida stands ready to help Texas respond to this crisis.”
The state will provide Texas with 800 Florida National Guard soldiers, 101 Florida Highway Patrol troopers, 200 Florida Department of Law Enforcement officers, 20 agents from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and 20 Department of Emergency Management personnel, including radio technicians, logisticians, mechanics, and planners. The governor will also dispatch five fixed-wing aircraft, two mobile command vehicles, 17 drones, and ten vessels, as well as the crews to operate them.
Florida is providing aid to Texas through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC). Both states are parties to the agreement.
EMAC also allows the state to seek reimbursement from the federal agency FEMA for the resources and personnel deployed. DeSantis has previously sent aid to Texas and Arizona to help secure the border.
The move comes in response to a request for assistance from Texas governor Greg Abbott. In a letter to his fellow governors, Abbott explained that Texas spent more than $4.5 billion on essential border security operations since 2021, and the Texas legislature is currently contemplating an additional $4.6 billion for the next two years.
“Texas alone should not have to shoulder the financial burden of protecting our nation,” wrote Abbott. “In the federal government’s absence, we, as Governors, must band together.”
In addition to Florida, Idaho has responded to the call for aid, sending Idaho State Police officers.
The personnel will be at the border for 30 days, with extensions possible, NBC reported. The announcement comes just weeks before the June start of hurricane season.
DeSantis said the deployment and the Florida attorney general’s legal battle are evidence that Florida is holding Biden accountable on immigration.
“With respect to this border issue, we’ve gotten injunctions on them doing mass releases, and we’re staying on them…because it’s a really important issue to actually have sovereignty in our country and have the rule of law upheld,” DeSantis said in a speech Tuesday.