Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis announced on Thursday that he is sending members of the Florida National Guard (FLNG) and Florida State Guard (FSG) to Texas to help Governor Greg Abbott (R) stop the “invasion” of illegal aliens flooding into his state that has unfolded during the Biden administration.
The announcement comes after federal agents recorded 302,034 illegal alien encounters last month, the highest level ever, surpassing the previous record of 269,735 that came under President Joe Biden’s watch in September 2023. At least 19 illegal aliens who were arrested were on the terrorist watchlist.
“States have every right to defend their sovereignty and we are pleased to increase our support to Texas as the Lone Star State works to stop the invasion across the border,” DeSantis said. “Our reinforcements will help Texas to add additional barriers, including razor wire along the border. We don’t have a country if we don’t have a border.”
DeSantis is sending “up to a battalion of National Guard members (approximately 1,000 soldiers) to Texas, who will be deployed based on Texas’ needs,” the governor’s office said in a statement.
The new surge in troops comes after Florida has already deployed significant resources to the state dating back to 2021.
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“The Florida State Guard is prepared to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with state agency partners in direct support of our brothers and sisters in Texas grappling with an unprecedented surge of illegal immigration along their border,” said Florida State Guard Director Mark Thieme. “The Florida State Guard is postured to deliver rapid emergency response, public safety operations and humanitarian assistance — wherever the need arises.”
The situation on the U.S. southern border has deteriorated so significantly under Biden that December’s illegal alien numbers are nearly identical to the total number of illegal aliens that were arrested at the U.S. southern border for the entire 2017 fiscal year, when federal officials apprehended 303,916 people.
The number of illegal alien encounters on the southern border last month is comparable to or larger than the population of numerous major U.S. cities, including Orlando, Newark, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Spokane, Irving, Lubbock, and more.