DeSantis Pledges to Send Florida National Guard to Help AZ Secure Border if Kari Lake Wins
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Sunday at an event in Phoenix that if fellow Republican Kari Lake wins the Arizona governor’s race he will send his state’s National Guard to help secure the border.
“What I’ve told Kari Lake, I said, ‘Look, if you’re willing to put people on that border, and keep [illegal migrants] from coming in to begin with, I’ll send National Guard to help with that,” DeSantis said at the rally hosted by Turning Point Action.
“I’m excited about the governor’s race here because we need to see more action on the southern border, and we know that [President] Joe Biden has completely abdicated his responsibility,” the governor explained.
“You know he took an oath to take care that the laws of this country are faithfully executed, and when he opened that border in January of 2021, he violated his oath of office. He is not upholding the Constitution,” DeSantis added.
He argued that Biden’s lax border policies have created a problem that goes far beyond the border states of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
“If you look around our country now, the No. 1 cause of death for people 18 to 45 is overdose from fentanyl. Where is the fentanyl getting into our country? It’s coming right across the border, virtually unimpeded,” DeSantis said.
The Floridian also cited human and sex trafficking being facilitated by the open border.
DeSantis dismissed the notion that state governments cannot act because enforcing border laws is a federal issue, and contended that states have the right to “defend their people.”
“I think [Lake’s] got a good plan at the border. We will absolutely be offering help,” he reiterated.
“Florida’s all in to help.”
Lake has posted a detailed immigration and border plan on her campaign website. The plan includes finishing former President Donald Trump’s border wall, enhancing the Arizona National Guard presence beyond what current Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has done, restoring the Arizona Rangers as a state law enforcement arm and charging them with securing the border from cartels.
“Law enforcement officers will be tasked with arresting illegal immigrants, smugglers and traffickers under existing state trespassing laws as a short-term stopgap to alleviate an overwhelmed and demoralized U.S. Border Patrol,” Lake’s plan states.
Turning Point Action Rally ” UNITE & WIN RALLY” Featuring Ron DeSantis with Kari Lake, Blake Masters and of course Charlie Kirk.
Image by Marty Wheeler
Produced by MAAP REAL pic.twitter.com/MKv2IvBv4G— MAAP REAL TALK SHOW (@MaapReal) August 15, 2022
Additionally, the candidate said she would instruct the National Guard to return illegal immigrants across the border to Mexico, using the state’s Article I authority under the U.S. Constitution.
In an April interview with Real America’s Voice, Lake argued that she would have the constitutional authority to enforce the border, particularly when the federal government refuses to do so.
“Our U.S. Constitution in Article IV, Section 4 requires that the federal government protect us. It’s the guarantee clause. They are not doing that,” she said.
“There’s a remedy right there in that brilliant document, the U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 10,” Lake continued. “If there’s imminent danger, we the states can protect ourselves from an invasion.”
AZ Gubernatorial Candidate @KariLake shares what governors can do to protect the southern border from the massive wave of illegal immigrants that are coming from all over the world because of Biden’s policies. #BidenBorderCrisis@RealDrGina #PrimeTime pic.twitter.com/vxnJ3DW0xX
— Real America’s Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) April 7, 2022
“So when I’m governor, after I take my hand off the Bible for the oath of office, I’m going to issue a declaration of invasion,” she said.
A version of this article originally appeared on Patriot Project.
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