DeSantis sends more Florida National Guardsmen to southern border

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday announced the deployment of additional Florida National Guard troops to the southern border to assist Texas's border security efforts.

The move marks the latest dispatch of troops by the governor to assist with Operation Lone Star, Texas's unilateral effort to secure the border in the face of perceived federal apathy toward the surge in illegal crossings. He announced the deployment of roughly 1,000 troops earlier this month.

The next deployment will include 50 members of the National Guard and 76 troops from the Florida Highway Patrol, according to The Hill.

"This is part of a years-long effort for us to help do what the federal government has refused to do, which is to actually defend this country’s borders," DeSantis said in a press conference. "You’ve seen numbers that have been astronomical over these last three years... I know that what has been happening in Texas has been effective."

"You’ve seen the numbers go down. And that’s really because you have Texas putting forth huge effort and then all these other states coming by to help, so we want to be a part of that. We think this is an American issue," he continued.

Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott attracted national attention in January amid a standoff with the federal government over his efforts, including legal challenges over a razor wire fence and a buoy barrier the state deployed. In a January statement, he vowed that Austin would defend itself and declared that its right to do so "supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.