With a jab at Newsom, DeSantis defends migrant flights
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday defended his state’s sending three dozen Hispanic migrants to Sacramento on recent charter flights from the border, saying California had “incentivized” illegal immigration and should pay the costs.
“These jurisdictions are part of the reason we have this problem, because they have endorsed and agitated for this kind of open border policy,” Mr. DeSantis said during his first visit to the southern border since the start of his presidential campaign. “They have boasted that they are sanctuary jurisdictions. They attacked the previous government’s attempts to secure the border.”
Democratic officials in California, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have said Florida’s taxpayer-funded operation to move migrants to Sacramento could face criminal or civil charges. They said the migrants, who arrived on Monday and last Friday, were tricked into boarding the planes with false promises of work before being left outside a church building. In criticizing the flights, Mr. Newsom resorted to unusually personal terms, calling Mr. DeSantis a “little pathetic man.”
On Wednesday, Mr. DeSantis took a shot back at Mr. Newsom, comparing California’s budget shortage to the budget surplus of his own state. “We have a well-run state,” he said at a roundtable in Sierra Vista, Ariz., which included law enforcement officials from Florida, Arizona and Texas. Mr. DeSantis appeared in his official capacity as governor.
Mr. DeSantis has taken a tough stance on immigration in the Republican primary, criticize the policies of both President Biden and, to a lesser extent, former President Donald J. Trump, his main rival for the nomination.
“The border should just be closed,” said Mr. DeSantis, who is taking a trip to Texas this week to raise money. He also reiterated his support for a border wall, adding: “Mass migration just doesn’t work.”
Last month, Mr. DeSantis authorized more than 1,100 members of the Florida National Guard and law enforcement personnel to be sent to Texas to serve on the southern border. Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, a Republican, had asked for help. Mr. DeSantis led a similar effort in 2021, when he also became a public display at the border.
While border detentions have reached record highs in recent years, illegal crossings between ports of entry along the southern border have declined by more than 70 percent since May 11, when Title 42, the pandemic-era health measure, was introduced. cancelledaccording to statistics from Customs and Border Protection.
After the comments of Mr. DeSantis in Arizona, the sheriffs took turns describing the crimes they believed were committed by undocumented immigrants.
At times, the talk felt like a campaign event as the assembled officials, mostly Republicans, praised Mr. DeSantis.
“I’ve worked for a lot of governors,” said Polk County sheriff in Central Florida, Grady Judd. “Ladies and gentlemen, make no mistake, this is simply the best governor the state of Florida has had in the last 50 years.”
Miriam Jordan contributed reporting from New York.