Ron DeSantis signs immigration crackdown ahead of Title 42 end

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a strict immigration bill into law Wednesday, a day before Title 42 expires and a stream of migrants is expected to cross the southern border.

DeSantis, who is expected to launch a Republican presidential candidate in the coming months, berated President Joe Biden at the signing ceremony.

“We are bracing for some turbulent times ahead,” he said. “If you have a president who turns a blind eye to the border… if you have, you’ll probably see it get a lot worse.”

“You’re going to see a massive influx of illegal aliens, you have a duty to make sure these borders are secure. This is a huge disaster on our hands,” DeSantis noted as he spoke in front of a sign reading “Biden’s Border Crisis.”

The law provides $12 million for DeSantis’ relocation initiative, which gained national attention last year when the governor paid his state to fly 50 mostly Venezuelan immigrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. He said he was highlighting the migrant issue.

Democrats accused him of making political pawns out of vulnerable asylum seekers and trying to score political points with the Republican base.

It also creates stricter laws for undocumented immigrants in the state, requires hospitals that accept Medicaid to include a question on intake forms about the patient’s citizenship status, and strengthens required use of E-Verify, a federal database that Employers can use it to determine an employee’s fitness to work.

Restrictions tied to a Trump-era public health law known as Title 42 expire Thursday.

Under Title 42, in effect since March 2020, many border crossers were quickly deported to Mexico without the chance to seek asylum.

Daily migrant crossings reached 10,000 a day before Title 42 ended.

Florida is not near the southern border of the country, and DeSantis acknowledged that most immigration policies and laws are set at the federal level, but he argued that he was not.trying to remove any incentives migrants might have to come to Florida.

“People will come if they get benefits,” DeSantis said. “You’re here as a native or you’re here legally, both are fine, but there’s no point in crossing the border and eventually getting benefits in Florida.”

DeSantis has long hammered Biden on the migrant issue.

“This is something that is the responsibility of Joe Biden. This is a responsibility he has failed from day one of his presidency,” DeSantis said.

‘If we had a different administration, it would of course be a lot easier to actually tackle the problem at the source.’

When asked about his plans to run for president, DeSantis simply said, “I may have something to say about the overall landscape for 2024, but stay tuned.”

Migrants gather between primary and secondary border fences as the United States prepares to lift Title 42 restrictions of the COVID-19 era ending this week

Migrants reach out from the border fence to try to charge their phones while trapped between primary and secondary border fences as the United States prepares to lift Title 42

This week, his administration selected three suppliers it wants to use for the governor’s relocation program, suggesting additional flights or relocations are likely.

One of the sellers is the office of the same airline company DeSantis used for the flight to Martha’s Vineyard.

Meanwhile, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called Florida’s new law “immoral” and “politicizing” on Monday.

“Imagine Florida, which is full of migrants, takes repressive, inhumane measures against migrants in Florida because he wants to be a candidate,” López Obrador said.