DeSantis budget plan contains $8 million to remove illegal immigrants from Florida

DeSantis budget plan contains $8 million to remove illegal immigrants from Florida

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Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is proposing a program to contract with private companies to transport and remove illegal immigrants from the state.

“In yesterday’s budget, I put in $8 million for us to be able to transport people here illegally out of the state of Florida,” DeSantis said in a Friday press conference. “It’s somewhat tongue in cheek, but it is true, if you sent them to Delaware or Martha’s Vineyard or some of these places, that border would be secure the next day.

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The program would be paid for by interest accrued from federal funds, according to the Miami Herald.

“One of the priorities that we’ve been working on for many months now, and we’ll continue to work with the legislature when they get back is dealing with the fallout from the reckless border policies of the Biden administration,” DeSantis said in the press conference.

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DeSantis said his office will be proposing a “series of legislative reforms” to address illegal immigration and push back on President Biden’s immigration agenda including a move to bar any contractors who helped the Biden administration transport migrants into and across Florida from future contracts with the state.

“We have a responsibility to stand up for the rule of law,” DeSantis said.

Biden’s Department of Homeland Security confirmed that it expects more than 2 million illegal immigrants to cross the border by the end of this year and Biden has faced intense scrutiny from Republicans on his handling of the border.

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“Our immigration system is on fire, and bad policies are fanning the flames,” Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales, who represents Texas’s 23rd district along the border, wrote in a recent essay.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.