Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order on Tuesday to protect Floridians from the “dangerous” impact of the Biden border crisis.
Executive Order 21-223 prohibits all Florida agencies from “facilitating illegal immigration into Florida, unless otherwise required by federal or state law, and require the collection of information from state officials on the scope and costs of illegal immigration in Florida.”
Live Now: Governor DeSantis is in Lee County to sign the Biden Border Crisis Executive Order.https://t.co/SBVH0clNJ6
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 28, 2021
“Since President Biden took office – which has been less than one year – the Border Patrol has released nearly a quarter million illegal aliens into the United States,” DeSantis said in a statement.
“This executive order makes it clear that Florida resources will not be used to prop up the failed open border agenda enacted by this administration.”
The order also appointed Larry Keefe, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, as public safety czar to ensure the actions in the executive order are implemented.
“Attorney General Ashley Moody has also filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration challenging its policy of catching and releasing the staggering number of illegal aliens apprehended at the border into the United States,” DeSantis said.
The state attorney general addressed the need for the executive order due to the Biden administration’s “brazen disregard” for immigration laws.
“The Biden Administration’s brazen disregard for federal immigration law is jeopardizing the safety and security of our state and nation, all while costing Florida taxpayers,” Moody said in the statement.
“Biden’s lax border policy is an open invitation to dangerous criminals, human traffickers and drugs traffickers to enter the United States — creating a crisis at the Southern Border like we have never seen.”
Keefe noted the state of Florida has often been impacted more directly during times of increased illegal immigration.
“As a former U.S. Attorney, I saw illegal aliens that would get deported and come back, and then get deported and come back in an endless cycle,” Keefe said in the statement.
“The states, including Florida, bear the brunt of this cycle. Over the coming weeks and months, our state agencies will be addressing the impacts illegal immigration has had on our state. I want to thank Governor DeSantis for appointing me to lead these efforts.”
In July, DeSantis visited the southern border of Texas where Florida law enforcement assisted with the apprehension of over 2,800 undocumented immigrants in 23 days and over 100 criminal arrests, according to a news release.
“They’ve made over 2,000 apprehensions, over 100 felony arrests, and they say that almost 70 percent of everybody that they have interdicted said their ultimate destination was the state of Florida,” the governor said at a media briefing, Fox News reported.
“If you think that having a wide-open border 1,000 miles, however far it was, away doesn’t affect here, you’re wrong.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
