Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Friday mobilised the state national guard to help local officials respond to a large influx of Cuban asylum seekers landing at the southernmost tip of the contiguous United States.
DeSantis, a Republican, used an executive order on Friday to activate the Florida National Guard and direct state law agencies to assist in the Florida Keys, a chain of tropical islands that extend into the Gulf of Mexico.
The move came in response to the arrival of more than 700 mostly Cuban refugees and migrants over the New Year’s weekend alone.
In a statement on Friday, the governor criticised Democratic President Joe Biden and the federal government’s immigration policies.
“The burden of the Biden administration’s failure falls on local law enforcement who lack the resources to deal with the crisis,” DeSantis said.
The governor’s statement made no mention of the Biden administration’s announcement of a new policy on Thursday to start turning back Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who arrive illegally at the Texas border.
The administration also said it would offer humanitarian parole for up to 30,000 people a month from those four countries if they apply online, pay their airfare and find a financial sponsor.
Some refugee and migrant advocates said the new policy could worsen the situation in Florida. Ramon Raul Sanchez with the Cuban American group Movimiento Democracia said even more Cubans may risk their lives by taking to the sea to reach the US instead of flying to Central America and coming to the Texas border by land.
