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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed an executive order calling on the National Guard to crack down on migrants sailing to the Sunshine State while criticizing Joe Biden.
DeSantis activated the state National Guard in response to 90 Cuban immigrants who were apprehended after a series of five landings in the Florida Keys in the past 24 hours.
“As the negative impacts of Biden’s lawless immigration policies continue unabated, the burden of the Biden administration’s failure falls on local law enforcement who lack the resources to deal with the crisis,” DeSantis said.
‘That’s why I’m activating the National Guard and directing state resources to help ease the pressure on local resources. When Biden continues to ignore his legal responsibilities, we will step in to support our communities.”
The move comes after at least 500 immigrants arrived in waves earlier this week due to rising inflation and food shortages in Cuba.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has called on the National Guard to crack down on migrants sailing to the Sunshine State as hundreds of Cuban immigrants have entered the state in recent days.
DeSantis (above) criticized the Biden Administration for its “failure” to help local law enforcement overwhelmed by the influx of immigrants.
Pictured: Dozens of migrants waiting to be processed at the US Customs and Border Protection Station in Florida on Thursday.
In its executive order, DeSantis’ office explained that the new influx of immigrants has taken its toll on the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, which has 194 deputies who are ill-equipped to handle the hundreds of arriving immigrants.
DeSantis said the Biden Administration has been “inept” in providing Florida with the necessary tools to handle mass migration, so the state National Guard is needed to ease the burden on local law enforcement.
Through the National Guard, planes and helicopters will be deployed to deter migrants wherever possible, but will also allow those trying to reach Florida to at least travel safely and avoid loss of life.
Authorities have expressed fear for migrants traveling on battered boats after a cruise ship rescued 24 migrants stranded at sea earlier this week.
‘Florida has a long history of helping refugees, including Cubans and others fleeing communist regimes, find support after their arrival in the United States, however this has always involved support from the Federal Government and a great coordinated effort between state, federal and local governments,’ DeSantis said in the order.
The governor added that since last August, law enforcement has encountered more than 8,000 migrants in the waters off the Florida coast.
There have been at least five landings in the past 24 hours as the wave of migration continues.
At least 90 migrants were captured on Friday traveling in battered boats
After arriving in the Florida Keys, migrants wait at the Marathon border station
DeSantis’ office said more than 8,000 migrants have crossed since last August
Economic turmoil, food shortages and runaway inflation in Cuba and other parts of the Caribbean are fueling the latest wave of migration.
Some 6,180 Cubans were intercepted at sea by the US Coast Guard in fiscal year 2022, according to Reuters. The fiscal year ended in September, but about 3,000 more migrants arrived in mid-December.
Meanwhile, 220,000 Cubans were captured after fleeing to the US-Mexico border last year.
Over the weekend, 300 migrants arrived at the sparsely populated Dry Tortugas National Park about 70 miles west of Key West.
The Florida National Guard will work to try to deter migration while ensuring the safety of those traveling in dangerous conditions.
A group of Cuban migrants from the city of Matanzas were seen standing in the sun while standing in the middle of Duck Key, Florida
Separately, 160 migrants arrived by boat in other parts of the Florida Keys over New Year’s Day weekend, authorities said.
On Monday, 30 people in two new groups of migrants were found in the Middle Keys.
The park was closed so that police and medical personnel could evaluate the group before moving them to Key West, the park tweeted.
The new influx of migrants sailing to Florida led the Biden administration to announce that the US would begin turning away Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who cross the waters illegally.
Border patrol officers at the southern border of the United States recorded 233,740 illegal immigrants crossing from Mexico in November, a 33 percent increase from 2021.
Biden also explained in his speech on Thursday that cell phone apps would now be used to expedite the immigration process.
Immigrants seeking asylum will need to download an app called ‘CBPOne’ and make an appointment outside the country before presenting themselves at a US port of entry, including airports.
Immigrants can also use the US parole program to have someone inside the country sponsor them.
They would then go through a background check, Biden explained, and if their application is approved, they would use the same ‘CBPOne’ application and present it at a port of entry.