DeSantis Details Strategy to Address Border Crisis: 'No Excuses'

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, widely viewed as Donald Trump’s strongest rival in the Republican primary race, laid out his plan to address the crisis at the southern border. 

Key Quote: “On Jan. 20, 2025, we will be on a mission to stop the invasion at our southern border to fight the drug cartels that are poisoning our citizenry, to build the border wall, and to reestablish the sovereignty of this nation,” DeSantis said, speaking at an event in Eagle Pass, Texas, along the state’s border with Mexico. “We are done with promises. We are done with slogans. Now is the time for action. No excuses. We will get the job done.”

Details: DeSantis stated he would declare a national emergency on his first day in office and make the border his number one priority. His released objectives are laid out in full in the Washington Examiner’s (Lean Right bias) article. The plan includes completing the border wall, labeling Mexican drug cartels “transnational criminal organizations,” ending birthright citizenship, restarting the Remain-in-Mexico policy, and ending the catch-and-release policy. Additionally, the plan states that “if the Mexican government drags its feet, DeSantis will reserve the right to operate across the border to secure our territory from Mexican cartel activities.”

How The Media Covered It: The Associated Press (Lean Left bias) reported that the logistics of how DeSantis would achieve some of the outlined goals are “unclear.” Reuters (Center bias) quoted a Democratic National Committee spokesperson calling the plans “callous and cruel.”