Politics

Ron DeSantis border plan unveiled: End to birthright citizenship, US troops to operate in Mexico and promise to finish wall

By
MaryAnn Martinez
Published June 26, 2023
Updated June 26, 2023, 5:29 p.m. ET

While visiting the US-Mexico border, Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis released his border security plan which calls for an end of birthright citizenship and for him to be able to send the US military into Mexico if necessary.

“Joe Biden has failed to meet the most basic responsibility of ensuring the territorial integrity of our country,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said as his plan was unveiled in Texas.

“Biden’s gross dereliction of duty has left the southern border in shambles.”

The plan, which mirrors many immigration talking points laid out by other Republicans, including GOP rival Donald Trump, also promised to finish the border wall — which no US president has been able to do.

In a plan of action called “No excuses: stop the invasion,” DeSantis laid out what he hopes to accomplish if he were to become president, including ending the legal right of all children born on US soil to become citizens under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.

In a DeSantis presidency, children of illegal immigrants would not automatically qualify as Americans.

“Dangling the prize of citizenship to the future offspring of illegal immigrants is a major driver of illegal migration,” the plan reads.

DeSantis spoke before a crowd of about 100 in Eagle Pass, Texas Monday.
DeSantis spoke in Eagle Pass, Texas Monday. ZUMAPRESS.com

“It is also inconsistent with the original understanding of 14th Amendment, and DeSantis will force the courts and Congress to finally address this failed policy.”

Any president would have an uphill battle changing the Constitution, which would require a two-thirds vote by Congress or by a convention called by Congress in response to applications from two-thirds of the state legislatures.

DeSantis also threatened to send the US military into Mexico if the country doesn’t comply with his administration’s requests regarding border security.

“If the Mexican government drags its feet, DeSantis reserves the right to operate across the border to secure our territory from Mexican cartel activities,” the document says.

Sunday, the Florida governor toured the border by land and by boat on the Rio Grande, the river that separates Texas from Mexico and serves as the international boundary.
Sunday, the Florida governor toured the border by land and by boat on the Rio Grande, the river that separates Texas from Mexico and serves as the international boundary. REUTERS

DeSantis will also take steps to stop the ingredients used to manufacture fentanyl and other drugs from arriving at ports, with the plan adding: “If the Mexican government won’t stop cartel drug manufacturing, DeSantis will surge resources to the Navy and the Coast Guard and block precursor chemicals from entering Mexican ports.”

Other border security objectives were laid out, including:

  • Ending Catch-and-Release policies on the border
  • Requiring asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while their cases moved through the court system
  • Boosting recruiting and to end Border Patrol understaffing
  • Declaring the Mexican drug cartels to be Transnational Criminal Organizations and calling for sanctions to be levied on cartels, cartel leaders and other entities known to do business with them
DeSantis promised to do more than previous officer holders to secure the border.
DeSantis promised to do more than previous office holders to secure the border. AFP via Getty Images

Standing before voters in Eagle Pass, Texas — a border hot spot that has often led the nation in migrant apprehensions — DeSantis took aim at elected officials from both political parties.

“I have listened to people in D.C. for years and years and years, going back decades, Republicans and Democrats, always chirping about this yet never actually bringing the issue to a conclusion,” DeSantis declared.

“What we’re saying is no excuses on this.”

Residents of South Texas shared concerns over illegal immigration with the Republican presidential hopeful.
Residents of South Texas shared concerns over illegal immigration with the Republican presidential hopeful. REUTERS

While DeSantis vowed to do more to secure the border than Donald Trump, critics claimed the governor’s proposal looked awfully similar to the one laid out by the former commander-in-chief — even accusing him of “copying and pasting.”

“The DeSanctus speech was just a rehash of all the things I did to have the ‘safest and strongest Border in U.S. history,’” Trump posted online shortly after his opponent spoke.

During President Biden's first trip to the border in January, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott handed the commander in chief a letter laying out border security plans now being used by DeSantis.
During President Biden’s first trip to the border in January, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott handed the commander-in-chief a letter laying out border security plans now being proposed by DeSantis. AP

The plan also borrowed from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has publicly called on the federal government to get tougher with cartels.

Abbott famously handed President Joe Biden a list of initiatives to secure the border when he visited El Paso in January.

Abbott also called on asylum seekers to remain in Mexico, for the government to continue building the border wall and to cut red-tape for federal immigration agents — just like DeSantis is now doing.

Former President Trump remains the frontrunner in the already crowded field of Republicans vying to be their party’s nominee. Some 52% of conservatives favor Trump, according to the FiveThirtyEight.

DeSantis comes in second with 21%, followed by Mike Pence at 5.8%.

  翻译：