Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis secured a win for combatting the fallout from Democrat President Joe Biden’s disastrous policies that have fueled the border crisis, which includes an explosion in activity from international criminal organizations.
“I am glad that the Florida Supreme Court has granted my petition to impanel a statewide grand jury to investigate international human smuggling networks that operate on our southern border,” DeSantis tweeted. “We are united in fighting back against Biden’s border crisis and protecting Floridians.”
I am glad that the Florida Supreme Court has granted my petition to impanel a statewide grand jury to investigate international human smuggling networks that operate on our southern border.
We are united in fighting back against Biden’s border crisis and protecting Floridians.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) June 30, 2022
Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Núñez praised the move by DeSantis, saying that it allows the state of Florida to “take the next step investigating the criminal enterprises that are taking hold, and child trafficking, human smuggling, drug smuggling.”
“All the things that are impacting not just a border state like Texas, but states like Florida,” she told Fox News, later adding, “This is not just well-intentioned people trying to get folks across the border. These are criminal cartels; they have an illicit industry that is far surpassing the arms industry and will likely surpass the drug industry. … They do not treat those individuals … what we’re seeing is that these individuals have little regard for the safety and wellbeing, and they’re using them as commodities. So, in the grand jury … the other pieces that we discussed, we’re gonna continue to look at ways to not only interdict the human trafficking that’s taking place, but also make sure that we prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
“The governor has created a strike force to interdict human smuggling that is taking place in Florida,” she added, “He’s got the grand jury that will be investigating and looking at what are the things that we can do to protect Floridians, and he’s also made it illegal for common carriers to knowingly work with enterprises that are bringing illegals into Florida.”
“Biden’s border disaster has made everyone less safe with historic numbers, record numbers of individuals flowing through our border, enough fentanyl to wipe out the entire population of the United States,” she concluded. “This is a crisis. It’s a humanitarian crisis, it’s a national security crisis, and for Governor DeSantis and I, we’re gonna continue to do everything that we can to keep Floridians safe.”
A Reuters report from last year said that even the leftist Mexican government was “worried the new U.S. administration’s asylum policies are stoking illegal immigration and creating business for organized crime.”
The Mexican cartels changed their modus operandi “from the day Biden took office” and are now showing “unprecedented” levels of sophistication in their criminal activity, which includes “briefing clients on the latest immigration rules, using technology to outfox authorities, and disguising smuggling operations as travel agencies,” the report said. The smugglers communicate with the migrants on numerous social media channels to update them on “impending checkpoints, when freight trains they can jump on pass, where to stay and how to navigate immigration laws.”
Related: Democrat Andrew Gillum Charged With 21 Felonies Related To Campaign That Lost To DeSantis