the many other Republicans<\/a> seeking the 2024 presidential nomination \u2014 especially Trump, the front-runner.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThat didn\u2019t stop him from trying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking from a podium emblazoned with the words, \u201cNo Excuses\u201d and \u201cStop the Invasion,\u201d DeSantis noted that there were more immigrants deported in the first four years of the Obama administration than in Trump\u2019s first term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He made repeated references to the unfinished border wall, an indirect knock on the former president, who is now his chief rival in the crowded Republican presidential primary. Trump tried and ultimately failed to finish a border wall along the entire 1,950-mile (3,140-kilometer) U.S.-Mexico border during his four years in office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before the Monday announcement, the DeSantis campaign released new merchandise bearing the words, \u201cBuild The Wall. No Excuses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump apparently watched DeSantis on television, describing his trip to the border as \u201ca total waste of time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe is a failed candidate, whose sole purpose in making the trip was to reiterate the fact that he would do all of the things done by me in creating the strongest Border, by far, in U.S. history,\u201d Trump wrote on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fierce feud between Trump and DeSantis, which includes clashes over policy and personality, will continue on Tuesday as both men are scheduled to campaign in New Hampshire. But immigration has been central to their messages no matter where they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump emphasized immigration while delivering the keynote address to hundreds of enthusiastic religious conservatives at the Faith and Freedom Coalition\u2019s conference in Washington over the weekend. He promised to carry out \u201cthe largest domestic deportation operation on the border\u201d and boasted about completing more than 300 miles (or 480 kilometers) of wall along the southern border during his administration while promising to build even more should he win another term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s policies worked to constrict immigration, but the number of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border still swelled during his time in office before dropping during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And his policies caused clogs in the system that led to massive overcrowding; for instance, the immigration court case backlog alone grew from roughly 500,000 in June 2016 to 1.3 million cases by the end of 2020. There were massive human rights concerns, too, particularly with the Remain in Mexico program and the separation of children from their families at the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Facing reporters on Monday, DeSantis said he would be more \u201caggressive\u201d than Trump in implementing strong immigration policies if elected president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think a lot of the things he\u2019s saying, you know, I agree with,\u201d he said of Trump. \u201cBut I also think those are the same things that were said back in 2016.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like Trump, DeSantis vowed to end the practice, as outlined in the Constitution, that grants citizenship to all babies born on U.S. soil. The 14th Amendment states: \u201cAll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DeSantis promises to end the United States\u2019 so-called catch-and-release policy, which currently allows for the release of immigrants in the country illegally until their court dates. That\u2019s because federal immigration authorities have the money for just 30,000 beds, making it impossible to detain everyone who is arrested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DeSantis also wants to reinstitute the Remain in Mexico policy to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court. Such a plan would need Mexico\u2019s approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\u2019s calling for closing the \u201cFlores loophole,\u201d which, among other things, requires families to generally be released from custody in 20 days. It is part of a federal court order, so it\u2019s unclear how he could close it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DeSantis is also promising to use military force against drug cartels if necessary. He would \u201creserve the right to operate across the border to secure our territory from Mexican cartel activities,\u201d according to the plan, which also calls for the U.S. Navy and the Coast Guard to block precursor chemicals from entering Mexican ports if \u201cthe Mexican government won\u2019t stop cartel drug manufacturing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DeSantis\u2019 plan says little about the millions of immigrants already living in the country illegally, aside from promising to deport those who have overstayed their visas. Deporting such people has been a challenge that has eluded authorities for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In September, the small border city of Eagle Pass made international headlines when nine people drowned in their attempt to swim through the Rio Grande.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DeSantis was supportive of one audience member who suggested that the situation at the border constituted an \u201cact of war.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think the state of Texas has the right to declare an invasion,\u201d DeSantis told the man. \u201cYou\u2019re going to see as president under Article 2 of the Constitution, you have a responsibility and a duty to protect the country. We are going to do that and we are going to do that robustly.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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