FIRST ON FOX: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday is announcing a national coalition of dozens of sheriffs to join forces to protect American communities against the consequences of the ongoing crisis at the southern border.
The 90-sheriff coalition includes sheriffs from Florida, California, Colorado, South Dakota, Maryland, Illinois, New York, Arizona, and Oregon.
In a statement of support the law enforcement officers say that the federal government has “failed in its responsibilities to secure our nation‘s borders” and cite the record 2.4 million migrant encounters in FY 2022, as well as the more than 1.6 million encountered so far in FY 23.
“The consequences of the federal government’s abdication are being felt across the nation. Cartels and gang members are bringing record levels of fentanyl and other drugs into our communities as our officers work around the clock to battle these criminal institutions,” they say.
“As Sheriffs, we are thankful that Florida has recognized the crisis at our border and we are partnering with the Sunshine State to bring law and order back to our streets.”
The sheriffs praise DeSantis — who is running for president in 2024 — for creating an anti-smuggling task force, deploying law enforcement including National Guard and highway patrol to the border, and launching a program to transport illegal immigrants to “sanctuary” jurisdictions — most recently California.
“It is unfortunate that the federal government has effectively abandoned border states and forced states like Florida to deal with this burden on their own. We can no longer sit by and watch our nation become overrun by gang activity and drug-related violence,” they say.
MIGRANT NUMBERS EXCEEDED 200,000 ENCOUNTERS AGAIN IN MAY AS TITLE 42 EXPIRED
They commit to partnering with DeSantis and the Sunshine State “to preserve the safety and well-being of the citizens we serve”
“We call on other law enforcement agencies to do the same,” they add.
In a statement, DeSantis said that illegal immigration “has not only ravaged communities along the southern border, it has harmed states across the country with the deadly influx of cartel-trafficked fentanyl and higher rates of violent crime.”
“I’m proud to work with this growing group of law enforcement leaders and bring Florida’s dedicated resources and leadership to bear on this national problem,” he said.
The coalition marks the latest move by the 2024 Republican presidential hopeful related to the southern border. In addition to the resource deployment to the southern border, DeSantis visited the border earlier this month. There he held a roundtable with sheriffs from multiple states and received a confidential briefing from border sheriffs and prosecutors, his office said.
As a presidential candidate has promised to shut down the border and declare a national emergency if elected president as well as resuming border wall construction and reinstating the “Remain-in-Mexico” policy.
In May he signed a broad anti-illegal immigration bill passed by the state legislature which mandates E-Verify, enhances smuggling penalties and bars local jurisdictions from issuing IDs to those in the country illegally.
Republicans have been taking aim at the Biden administration for its handling of the ongoing border crisis, arguing that its rolling back of interior enforcement and Trump-era policies have fueled the crisis now into its third year.
The Biden administration has argued that it is rebuilding an asylum system broken by the prior administration and has recently pointed to a sharp drop in encounters after the end of Title 42 on May 11. However, recent numbers published by the administration show that there were still over 200,000 encounters in May overall.