Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order Friday to activate the state's National Guard and other resources in response to the massive influx of migrants landing in the Florida Keys.
Executive Order 23- 03 also directs other law enforcement and state agencies to provide resources, including deploying airplanes and helicopters and bolstering the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission marine patrol to support water interdictions.
In a statement, the governor criticized President Joe Biden and the federal government's immigration policies and response to the migrants landing in the Keys.
“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 in a news release. “That is why I am activating the National Guard and directing state resources to help alleviate the strain on local resources. When Biden continues to ignore his legal responsibilities, we will step in to support our communities.”
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The governor’s statement made no mention of the Biden administration’s announcement Thursday of a new policy to start turning back Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans at the Texas border, along with Venezuelans, who arrive illegally. The administration also said it would offer humanitarian parole for up 30,000 people a month from those four countries if they apply online, pay their airfare and find a financial sponsor.
Some migrant advocates said that new policy could worsen the situation in Florida. Ramón Raul Sanchez with the Cuban American group Movimiento Democracia said even more Cubans may risk their lives by taking to the sea to reach the U.S. instead of flying to Central America and coming to the Texas border by land.
Blas Nuñez Neto, acting Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy in the Department for Homeland Security, said the new program could incentivize Cubans not to come illegally by sea.
He said Cubans would be better off applying under the new parole program announced Thursday because that would give them a potential path to residency that they might not otherwise have.
“Do not risk your life at sea” because there are “much better options” under the new program, he said.
DeSantis said Florida will deploy airplanes, helicopter and marine patrols to the area “to support water interdictions and ensure the safety of migrants attempting to reach Florida through the Florida Straits.”
More than 4,400 migrants, mostly Cubans with some Haitians, have arrived by boat in Florida since August as those two countries face deepening and compounding political and economic crises. Because Washington and Havana don’t have diplomatic relations, it is problematic for the U.S. government to send Cubans back once they arrive in Florida.
Those who are stopped at sea are already taken back, since Cuba will accept those people. Almost 8,000 Cubans and Haitians have been intercepted since August — about 50 per day compared with 17 per day in the 2021-22 fiscal year and just two per day during the 2020-21 fiscal year. Officials said at least 65 migrants have died at sea since August.
