{"id":2212683,"date":"2024-04-04T03:18:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T07:18:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/desantis-official-stunned-after-border-visit-just-so-horrifying\/"},"modified":"2024-04-04T03:18:27","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T07:18:27","slug":"desantis-official-stunned-after-border-visit-just-so-horrifying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/desantis-official-stunned-after-border-visit-just-so-horrifying\/","title":{"rendered":"DeSantis Official Shocked by Border Visit: &#8220;Absolutely Horrifying"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdesantis-official-stunned-after-border-visit-just-so-horrifying%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2212683&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Based on \u200bthe provided\u2064 search \u200dresults, here \u2062is the summary of Chief Financial \u2064Officer \u200bJimmy Patronis&#8217; visit to the Texas \u2063border \u2063with Gov. Ron DeSantis: Patronis, a key figure in the DeSantis administration, expressed shock at\u2063 the extent of\u2063 illegal immigration and drug smuggling \u200bactivities. He highlighted the alarming\u200d scale of human trafficking and drug seizures at\u200d the border, emphasizing the need for increased awareness\u200b and federal action. Florida has\u200d deployed \u2062significant resources, including National Guard soldiers and law enforcement\u2064 officers, to support border security efforts in Texas under Operation Lone\u200b Star. The successful initiatives in Texas have led to a decrease \u200bin illegal crossings in \u200ccertain areas, \u2062showcasing \u2063the positive impact of collaborative state efforts on border\u2062 control.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>One of Gov. <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ron-desantis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Ron DeSantis<\/a>\u2018s (R-FL) top deputies said he left a visit to the Texas border in disbelief after seeing the illegal immigration and drug smuggling crises with his own eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, a Cabinet member in the DeSantis administration who oversees finances for the deployment of state military and law enforcement personnel to the border, described being stunned by how brazenly Mexican cartel smugglers moved immigrants and drugs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the things that was \u2026 just so horrifying to me was the numbers when it came to human trafficking and drugs,\u201d Patronis said in a phone call Wednesday. \u201cI had no idea how much was coming across the border that had been seized in drugs through this effort of managing and working the border.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt just breaks my heart that there\u2019s just such a blindness at a federal level to what\u2019s taking place there,\u201d Patronis added.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>Florida has made 1,000 National Guard soldiers available and deployed 90 law enforcement officers who are working on the front lines, in the sky, and on the roads to assist federal, state, and local authorities under Texas\u2019s Operation Lone Star.<\/p>\n<p>The Texas border security initiative began in 2021. In that time, the state, with the help of outside state police and military, has apprehended half a million people who illegally entered from Mexico and evaded federal Border Patrol agents.<\/p>\n<p>The state operation has also resulted in the seizure of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2928649\/texas-immigration-law-greenlit-supreme-court-sparks-concerns\/\" title>469 million<\/a> lethal doses of fentanyl, all of which made it past federal customs and border police.<\/p>\n<p>Florida <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/desantis-sending-florida-officers-border-crisis-in-texas-arizona\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">was the first state<\/a> in 2021 to send officers from a dozen departments statewide to help their counterparts in Texas following a nationwide request for help from Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX). Several other states joined in 2021 but later pulled their personnel.<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, Abbott requested outside help again, and Florida <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/national-security\/418152\/troops-from-25-states-across-the-country-sent-to-border-at-bidens-request\/\" title>responded<\/a>, along with 25 other states. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe governor has taken some hits on this,\u201d Patronis said. \u201cI think it\u2019s important to let them know that I\u2019m proud to sign the check to fund those operations.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>Patronis visited the border town of Eagle Pass, which has been the epicenter of the border crisis over the past three years. In a single day last December, law enforcement in the town would arrest more than 2,000 illegal immigrants.<\/p>\n<p>The Abbott administration has further reinforced the riverbanks in Eagle Pass with layers of concertina wire, a 1,000-foot buoy in the Rio Grande, and cargo containers to deter immigrants from wading across.<\/p>\n<p>In recent months, illegal crossings into Eagle Pass have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2844966\/illegal-immigration-shifting-away-texas-abbott-crackdown\/\" title>dwindled<\/a> to dozens of arrests per day as migrants and smugglers choose to move across states that are easier to breach, including Arizona, California, and New Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the case of Eagle Pass, there was thousands every day that were crossing right there. So now, there is a very significant force presence there at Eagle Pass,\u201d Patronis said. \u201cIn some days, less than 100 a day will try to cross, so now what\u2019s happening is they\u2019ve moved \u2014 those human traffickers, those players in that space. It\u2019s obvious Eagle Pass is not a place [where] they can take [migrants] to cross anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The success that Texas has had is one reason that morale among the 25 Florida personnel whom Patronis met with was \u201cexcellent,\u201d he said. All Florida personnel working on the Texas border are volunteers and not required to deploy for the 14-day relocation, unlike Texas soldiers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFlorida \u2014 we\u2019re still standing firm with our support of Texas. Texas has been good to us when it\u2019s come time for our natural disasters, pushing out resources, dealing with hurricanes,\u201d Patronis said. \u201cThis is us repaying the favor, but also hopefully putting a kibosh on as much as we can of allowing any of these illegals to come into the state of Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patronis said he wanted to see if the deployment was having a significant impact on border security and how state employees were feeling. He went out with state police by helicopter and on airboat to get a comprehensive look at how both states were managing the situation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI couldn\u2019t get over this. One FWC officer, that\u2019s Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, that was his seventh visit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The backup from Florida and other states also communicates to the thousands of Texas state police and soldiers deployed to the border that they have not been forgotten outside of Texas and \u201cgives them motivation to continue to move forward,\u201d Patronis said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>DeSantis visited Eagle Pass while a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination last year.<\/p>\n<p>Most recently, former President Donald Trump visited Eagle Pass in March and met with Abbott to see how the state had responded to the border crisis.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div>\n<blockquote data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Big urban area across the river is Mexico. They\u2019ll send hundreds across the river to try to overwhelm the system state-side. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/In6eKDGOti\">pic.twitter.com\/In6eKDGOti<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jimmy Patronis (@JimmyPatronis) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JimmyPatronis\/status\/1775213131091865865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 2, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of Gov. Ron DeSantis&#8217;s top deputies, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, expressed disbelief after witnessing firsthand the illegal immigration and drug smuggling crises during a visit to the Texas border. Patronis, a key Cabinet member in the DeSantis administration, is responsible for managing financial resources for state military and law enforcement deployment<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2655,"featured_media":2212684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Screenshot-2024-04-03-at-5.25.08%E2%80%AFPM-1024x591.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2212683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Screenshot-2024-04-03-at-5.25.08%E2%80%AFPM-1024x591.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2655"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2212683"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2212683\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2212684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2212683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2212683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2212683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}