DeSantis Suing Biden Over “Destructive and Illegal” Border Policies

The state of Florida is suing the Biden administration over its "illegal" catch-and-release policies at the U.S.-Mexico border, GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday.

The lawsuit says the administration's policies force Florida to "incur millions of dollars in expenses" as a result of migrants being relocated to the state.

"This is absolutely a crisis, it's a crisis of the administration’s own making," DeSantis said during a late-morning press conference. "Yes, this is their primary responsibility, the federal government, but the states, we are the ones that are affected by this. And we have to be able to fight back.

"It’s very clear that open borders is the Biden administration’s policy. They want a massive illegal migration into this country, and it’s obvious in the polices they’re choosing."

Border Patrol reported 213,354 migrant encounters in July and 208,887 in August. Experts warn the numbers could continue to climb under the Biden administration.

The governor said Florida takes issue with the Biden administration refusing to explain how many migrants have been relocated to Florida, and whether they have tested positive for COVID-19 or have criminal backgrounds.

"We are entitled to know what’s going on here," DeSantis said.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration on Tuesday on behalf of the state of Florida, claiming that the “ideological” Biden White House is pursuing a “destructive and illegal” catch-and-release border policy that is leaving Florida’s citizens vulnerable.

Speaking alongside Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody Tuesday afternoon in Fort Meyers, DeSantis called the Biden administration policy, which has led to a record number of illegal alien encounters with United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in recent months — and more than 1 million encounters in 2021 — a “total disaster.”

He specifically targeted the Biden administration’s unofficial “catch-and-release” policy, which allows captured illegal immigrants who claim asylum to remain in the United States until their claims can be heard in an immigration court — sometimes a matter of months. The policy runs counter to the Trump administration’s solution, which had prospective asylum seekers remaining in Mexico until their claims could be assessed.

Biden’s policy, DeSantis claims, has sent unscreened illegal immigrants into Florida — on purpose.

“I think this is intentional, I think this is ideological,” DeSantis said at the conference Tuesday. “They want a massive illegal migration into this country.”

“It’s very clear the open borders is the Biden Administration policy. They want a massive, illegal migration into this country,” DeSantis added. “They are farming out people all across communities across the United States, including here in Florida.”