Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took his presidential campaign to the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas to criticize both President Joe Biden and his chief rival for the 2024 nomination, former President Donald Trump, on immigration. 

What You Need To Know

  • Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas to unveil his sweeping border security and immigration plan, the first major policy proposal of his presidential campaign

  • DeSantis plan calls for finishing the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, sending the U.S. military into Mexico to combat drug cartels, deport those who overstay their visas and withhold federal grants to cities and organizations that help undocumented immigrants

  • The plan also seeks to end citizenship for newborns in the United States whose parents are undocumented immigrants, a privilege guaranteed by the 14th Amendment

  • Enacting large parts of DeSantis' plan, such as getting permission from Mexico to send U.S. troops into that country and amending the U.S. Constitution to end birthright citizenship, would likely be extremely difficult

DeSantis visited Eagle Pass, Texas, to detail his sweeping plan to secure the border dubbed “No Excuses,” the first major policy proposal of his presidential campaign.

“Going back decades, Republicans and Democrats are always chirping about this, and yet never actually bringing the issue to a conclusion, never actually getting the job done,” he said. “And so what we’re saying is no excuses on this.”

DeSantis plan calls for finishing the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, sending the U.S. military into Mexico to combat drug cartels, deport those who overstay their visas and withhold federal grants to cities and organizations that help undocumented immigrants. 

The plan also seeks to end citizenship for newborns in the United States whose parents are undocumented immigrants, a privilege guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, an early DeSantis supporter, applauded the Florida governor’s plan.

“What you get in Gov. DeSantis is a proven resolve to get the job done,” Roy told Spectrum News. “Someone who’s going to stand up and advance the policies that we saw, frankly, that were effective in the Trump administration, but that we need to now see executed for eight years. Somebody who can win nationally with a mandate.”

The Biden administration says illegal border crossings between ports of entry in May fell 25% compared to a year ago because of policies it implemented to deter unlawful entries. 

Texas Democratic Party chairman Gilberto Hinojosa called DeSantis’ immigration proposals cruel and barbaric in a statement and branded the Florida governor’s campaign “desperate.” 

“No matter who the GOP nominee is—the MAGA Republicans in Washington and Austin will continue to operate in bad faith on border security issues, using migrants and overwhelmed border communities as collateral in their efforts to galvanize their base, purposefully getting in the way of making progress on this issue that’s so critical to Texans,” Hinojosa said. 

Although he did not mention Trump by name, DeSantis took several veiled swipes at him by repeatedly noting that Trump’s championed border wall was not finished.

DeSantis is trailing Trump in polls; however, he presents himself as a valid alternative who doesn’t face legal troubles. There was at least one Trump supporter in the crowd considering other candidates. 

“[Whoever] the candidate is, I’m sure that the Republican Party will nominate a good candidate that will work for the American people,” Rogelio Rocha, a Texas Resident, told Spectrum News. “That’s why I’m here, to find out more about Gov. DeSantis.”