WASHINGTON — The White House issued a sharp rebuke of Ron DeSantis on Wednesday after the Florida governor activated the state’s National Guard in response to a surge in Cuban migrants arriving by sea, accusing the Republican of “creating a problem” as the Biden administration is attempting to crack down on border enforcement.
“We have seen Gov. DeSantis do political stunts. That is how he perceives to fix this issue from Florida,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a press briefing.
“We’re talking about people coming from countries who are dealing with political strife, who are dealing with issues where they’re trying to find asylum. And he treats them like pawns,” Jean-Pierre said. ”So we have called that out, over and over again. And we will continue to do that.”
DeSantis issued an executive order last week activating the Florida National Guard, claiming that “the negative impacts of Biden’s lawless immigration policies continue unabated.”
“The burden of the Biden administration’s failure falls on local law enforcement who lack the resources to deal with the crisis,” DeSantis stated.
But officials at the Department of Homeland Security said that the Florida National Guard would only be serving in a supporting role to existing federal operating, offering aerial support to Customs and Border Patrol.
“He’s not dealing with the problem. He’s actually creating a problem,” Jean-Pierre said. “And so that’s what I have to say to that. We’ve talked about Gov. DeSantis and, again, the mockery that he’s making of a process that the president is trying to fix. He’s trying to deal with this issue.”
The Biden administration introduced a new parole program last week providing a new pathway for legal status in the United States for Haitians, Cubans and Venezuelans, while announcing a plan to bar entry to those arriving illegally for up to five years.
