While campaigning for the White House last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis discussed his immigration policies, vowing to deport anyone who comes across the border illegally during the Biden administration if he’s elected.
The Republican contender told reporters after the campaign event in Long Beach, California, last Friday that such a mass removal would be his “first priority” as chief executive.
“Everyone that has come illegally under Biden. We got to go — they’re sending back,” DeSantis said. “That’s going to be the first priority. That’s probably 6 or 7 million people right there. It’s going to require a lot of effort. It’s going to require us to lean in.”
When asked how he would go about deporting the millions of migrants who have entered the country, a campaign official for the governor told The New York Post that he would boost the ranks of the Border Patrol and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The same plan is laid out in a section of DeSantis’s campaign website called “Stop The Invasion.”
“We will hire more Border Patrol agents and more removal agents to make sure that even if illegal immigrants cross, they will swiftly be found and deported,” the website says.
It continues, saying, “We will allow ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers to do their jobs and focus on illegal alien entries under Biden’s border crisis and those with criminal records.”
According to data from the US Customs and Border Protection, more than 2.76 million migrants have been encountered in the year 2022.