Photo: Alamy
Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., announced additional steps the state will take to address the border crisis under the Biden administration.
According to a press release, DeSantis revealed that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Highway Patrol, and sheriffs, will conduct operations to “interdict human smuggling and human trafficking, drug smuggling and drug trafficking, as well as to seize illegal weapons.”
Within three days, the strike force “interdicted” five illegal immigrants arrested and charged with human smuggling or solicitation to commit human smuggling. The press release also states that the officers recovered nearly four grams of fentanyl, which could kill almost 2,000 Floridians.
Furthermore, DeSantis filed a petition to the Florida Supreme Court for a statewide grand jury to “identify and investigate persons and international human smuggling networks that move illegal aliens, particularly children, across the southwest border to more desirable states such as Florida,” according to the release.
The governor’s office clarified that the jury would be tasked with analyzing the networks’ impact on the state and the extent to which they violate state laws. Moreover, the jury will investigate local governments participating in smuggling schemes.
Lastly, DeSantis signed SB 1808. According to the governor’s office, the legislation: “prohibits a governmental entity from executing, amending, or renewing a contact with a common carrier if the carrier is willfully providing any service in furtherance of transporting an unauthorized alien into the State of Florida knowing that he or she is an unauthorized alien.” Few exceptions apply.
“Illegal aliens are being smuggled across the border in record numbers, which the reckless policies of the Biden administration facilitate,” the governor said during a press briefing on Friday. “Today, Florida has taken additional action to protect our state from the effects of what is a full-fledged border crisis.”
The Florida governor has heavily criticized the Biden administration for failing to take action as a massive wave of illegal migrants continues to reach the U.S. border.
“There’s a massive, massive caravan that’s coming towards the southern border right now,” DeSantis said, slamming Biden’s lack of action. “And what is Biden doing? He’s fumbling around on late-night TV shows. He needs to get in the game here, and he needs to defend our country’s sovereignty.”
The governor’s willingness to go against the Biden administration’s faulty policies and advocate for solid conservative policies have led him to become a national political phenomenon, with many Americans desiring a presidential run in 2024.
While a DeSantis presidential bid is merely speculation, a Real America’s Voice correspondent recently shared that a presidential run could be in the governor’s future.
During a live interview, Ed Henry shared:
“I know someone who’s a very prominent Republican donor – hedge fund kind of world, lot of money. And he got a real interesting call recently from a man named Ron DeSantis…six months ago if you would have asked me I would have said, ‘DeSantis is young, he’s not gonna run against Trump. He’s gonna wait it out.’ This call that happened a few weeks ago – Ron DeSantis said, ‘I’m likely to run, keep your powder dry, don’t give everything to Trump. I want you, I need you in my corner.’”
Nonetheless, DeSantis is putting all his energy into his 2022 reelection campaign as he seeks a second term as Florida governor in the fall.