DeSantis Claims 70 Percent of Encountered Aliens Have Their Eyes Set on Florida

On Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) set his sights once again on the folly of the Biden administration, this time focusing on the direct repercussions of the border crisis within his state.

In an interview on Fox News’ ‘Watters World’, DeSantis reflected on his recent trip to the southern border after sending Florida law enforcement resources to Texas to help mitigate the crisis.

At a press conference, DeSantis stated, “[Florida law enforcement officers in Texas have] 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. If you think that having a wide-open border, 1,000 miles, however far it was away doesn’t affect here, you’re wrong.”

“If you have a huge percentage that are going to try to come to Florida, and I think Biden is paying for tickets on buses and flying folks around, that’s going to have a huge impact on community services, on education, on health care, it’s going to affect taxpayers to a huge, huge extent. The policy there needs to change,” said DeSantis. And he isn’t wrong.

The Biden administration is indeed flying illegal migrants to various locations throughout the country, often in the middle of the night. From February 19 to April 22, more than 7,200 border-crossers were flown into various cities on domestic commercial flights, often without COVID testing. Many of these destinations remain undisclosed to the American public.

In May, at least four planes flew into Chattanooga, Tennessee carrying unaccompanied alien minors (UAC) and family units. Many of these migrants were then put on busses and driven to Miami and Dallas.

Similarly, FAIR staff witnessed migrants boarding flights in McAllen, Texas in April. They were carrying manila envelopes with the names of cities written on them.

More recently, approximately 80 Haitian immigrants were dropped off on July 15 in Shreveport, Louisiana by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with little notice given to the city. Initially, about 50 illegal migrants arrived by bus to the SporTran Intermodal Terminal in Shreveport, Louisiana. A second bus carrying 29 additional migrants arrived later that afternoon. A SporTran source told KTBS that all the men on board “had money, and made travel connections, most on Greyhound. Some even had airline tickets and headed straight to the airport.” SporTran sources were also told that up to 17 more buses were headed for Shreveport.

A public information officer for ICE, Sarah Loicano, released a statement to KTBS, saying, “ICE’s enforcement and removal operations New Orleans field office is transporting individuals, in accordance with COVID-19 protocols, released from ICE custody to regional airports or bus stations. Individuals released from ICE custody have a transportation and a temporary support plan in place prior to release.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy M.D. (R-La.) released a statement on July 18 regarding the drop offs stating, “The White House cannot dump groups of Haitian refugees into Louisiana communities with nowhere to go, no photo ID, and no money… Do President Biden and Vice President Harris care about communities, immigrants, and controlling the border?”

The reality is, the current crisis on our border affects every state, not just those sharing a border with Mexico. Illegal aliens often don’t just settle near the border. In fact, high concentrations of illegal aliens reside in Florida, New York and New Jersey. The Biden administration must reverse course as their political agenda of open borders and mass amnesty is creating a crisis that carries potentially irreversible consequences.