Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) was highly critical of President Joe Biden’s immigration policies over the weekend while in Texas, asserting that the administration has a "double standard" on allowing Cuban migrants into the country.
"They have a hundred-times stronger case for political persecution leaving a communist dictatorship than the other migrants who are coming across the border who are basically coming across the border because they want more economic opportunity," DeSantis told host Jesse Watters Saturday on Fox News' "Watters World."
"It’s a double standard, but honest, it’s something we expected because I do think a lot of their border policies are very political in nature in its intent,” he continued.
The governor’s comments come after 50 law enforcement agents were sent from Florida to Texas to help tackle the crisis at the border. DeSantis emphasized that, due to a lack of action from the federal government, Florida and several other states are stepping up to assist border states in combatting the immigration crisis.
"Where the federal government is failing, Texas is having to step up, and Florida and other states are helping," he said.
DeSantis pointed out that the Biden administration allows illegal immigrants to pick where they want to go after crossing the border. The migrants are then provided with bus tickets to their chosen destination, which the governor said is oftentimes Florida.
Customs and Border Protection officials said Friday that there were nearly 190,000 migrant encounters at the southern border during the month of June. Since the start of 2021, the number of migrant encounters has exceeded 1 million.
The quantity of migrant encounters in June by border officials is highest number since Biden took office. Under the Trump administration, immigration policies had migrant encounters at less than half their current rate. Biden reversed these Trump-era policies shortly after being sworn into office.