DeSantis Demands Federal Government Provide Data on Number of Illegal Immigrants in Florida

In a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Florida Gov. DeSantis demands that the Department of Homeland Security provide data on the number of illegal immigrants “resettled” in his state. 

DeSantis said that during the first half of 2021, more than 6,250 illegal immigrants were transported to Florida by the federal government and released to sponsors with little oversight, according to Just the News. Other than that, the governor said there’s little information. 

In his letter, he requests data by September 30 detailing “the number of aliens with lawful status, including unaccompanied minors, apprehended at the southwest border whom DHS knows has resettled in Florida since January 2021. He also requests the names of detained illegal immigrants, as well as the names and addresses of their sponsors. 

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody joined DeSantis on Thursday to warn that unknown numbers of undocuments and unvaccinated border detainees are being transported to Florida under Biden’s “reckless immigration policies.” 

DeSantis said Biden is “refusing to enforce immigration laws enacted by Congress.” 

“President Biden, Vice President Harris, and their administration have refused to fulfill their responsibility to enforce immigration laws enacted by Congress and the resulting influx of unvetted illegal aliens endangers our national security and undermines the socioeconomic wellbeing of hardworking American citizens,” DeSantis said in a statement accompanying the letter to Mayorkas. 

“Unfortunately, even though the federal government is responsible for immigration enforcement, it is the states who bear the brunt of this administration’s reckless immigration policies,” he said.