Florida Governor and Presidential Candidate Ron DeSantis announced an aggressive border security plan on Monday. The presidential hopeful’s plan includes a broad spectrum of strategies aimed at reinforcing the nation’s immigration system.
“No excuses on this. Get the job done,” DeSantis stated on Monday. The Florida governor expressed his intent to make border security a ‘day one priority’ upon his potential election.
The central pillar of DeSantis’s policy blueprint is the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants – a promise he claims the Trump administration failed to deliver on. The plan also includes the completion of a border wall, a task that he proposes to be partially funded by taxing remittances.
In addition, DeSantis seeks to cut off federal funding to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and put an end to the ‘catch and release’ system currently utilized at the border.
One of the more controversial aspects of his plan involves overturning executive authorities from the Biden administration, and putting an end to the use of parole. DeSantis also aims to challenge the current interpretation of US law that mandates processing migrants who have already entered the US. “They can be repelled, that’s sovereignty 101,” the Governor told our correspondent.
DeSantis also expressed his push to end birthright citizenship, a move that is expected to stir considerable debate nationwide.
Further escalating his hardline approach to border security, DeSantis proposed changing the rules of engagement against cartels and smugglers. The governor’s plan calls for deputizing state and local law enforcement to enforce immigration law – a move that is likely to raise both legal and practical questions.
Moreover, DeSantis pledged to declare a national emergency on his first day in office. “There will be a new sheriff in town in January 2025,” DeSantis assured Fox News’ Bill Melugin, signaling an era of strict immigration enforcement should he be elected.