Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has become one of the most popular Republican leaders in the country. This is largely because he frequently battles against President Joe Biden’s controversial policies.
DeSantis was one of several GOP Governors who criticized Biden’s pandemic guidelines, for example. And when it comes to immigration, Florida is taking another very strong stance.
And this time, it involves an ultimatum — if Biden doesn’t make a change, DeSantis is prepared to fight back.
The Florida Republican, along with other Governors like Texas’ Greg Abbott, has lambasted the Biden administration for its border failings. They claim nothing has gotten better on this front.
The crisis directly impacts the entire country, but southern states often feel the effects more keenly.
More and more migrants – many of which unregistered – continue to flood into the country, and instead of working on a southern barrier and enforcing existing laws, it seems the White House would rather facilitate more movement.
This includes settling unaccompanied migrant children in state-licensed facilities in certain states: Florida included.
Back in December, Gov. DeSantis blocked this move and ever since, the Biden administration has been trying to push it through. But Florida isn’t about to back down.
In a letter obtained exclusively by Breitbart News, written by DeSantis’ general counsel Ryan Newman, Florida issued an ultimatum:
So long as the Biden administration continues its irresponsible immigration policies, Florida no longer wishes to be involved in the Federal Government’s UAC resettlement program.
DCF’s change of policy makes clear that the Federal Government, not the State of Florida, is solely responsible for the care and safety of the UAC that it has chosen to bring into the country.
Florida’s government has made it clear:
State-licensed Department of Children and Families (DCF) facilities will lose their licenses if they’re forced to keep accepting migrant kids. Biden must stop this process immediately.
The only way Florida will consider this possibility is if the administration re-implements former President Donald Trump’s policies.
Specifically, DeSantis is referring to Trump’s Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), otherwise knows as “Remain in Mexico.” Either this, or Biden must offer something very similar.
Many politicians and border authorities say Remain in Mexico really helped with the immense flow of migrants.
But that isn’t all Florida has demanded of Biden:
In any event, any such future cooperative agreement would need to include, at a minimum, advance notice when UAC are transported into Florida, verification that the UAC are under the age of 18 and do not have a criminal history or affiliation with criminal gangs, and an opportunity for the state to object if the number of UAC transported to Florida becomes excessive as compared to other states.
It seems unlikely that the Biden administration will concede all of these points. But if they don’t, they might have to stop all migrant transportation because Florida DCF offices won’t have licenses.
At this point, Gov. DeSantis believes that the federal government must take “full responsibility” for being the “caretaker of the UAC arriving at the border.”
And if they’re going to do that, they need to follow existing immigration law. Many Republican leaders have accused the Democrat administration of frequently ignoring and even breaking such laws.
Key Takeaways:
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has given the Joe Biden administration an ultimatum.
- Either they bring back Trump’s Remain in Mexico policy, and agree to a few other demands, or Florida DCF institutions will lose their licenses.
- The state says the federal government must assume full responsibility, and follow and enforce existing immigration laws.
Source: Breitbart
