“States have every right to defend their sovereignty and we are pleased to increase our support to Texas as the Lone Star State works to stop the invasion across the border,” DeSantis said in a statement. “Our reinforcements will help Texas to add additional barriers, including razor wire along the border. We don’t have a country if we don’t have a border.”
Florida is offering up to a battalion of National Guard troops — approximately 1,000 soldiers — to Texas, who will be deployed based on Texas’ needs, the statement said.
The troops will join more than 90 Florida law enforcement officers already deployed to the border, the statement said. Additional law enforcement resources are standing by and ready to be deployed as requested by Texas, the statement said.
The Florida State Guard is prepared to deliver rapid emergency response, public safety operations and humanitarian assistance, Florida State Guard Director Mark Thieme said in the statement.
The move comes amid a dispute between Texas state officials and the Biden administration over the federal government’s handling of border security.
Last month, the US Supreme Court issued a temporary order allowing federal Border Patrol agents to remove razor wire barriers placed by Texas. However, Texas Governor Greg Abbott maintained the state’s right to guard its share of the US border with Mexico, citing the federal government’s failure to secure the border.
More than two dozen other state officials from across the US, including DeSantis, have backed Abbott in the dispute.