ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continues his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination this week, taking a hardline stance on immigration in his first presidential policy proposals, which include wanting to send U.S. troops to Mexico to combat cartels, finish building the southern border wall and end birthright citizenship for kids born to undocumented migrants in the U.S.
“Now is the time for action, no excuses. We will get the job done,” DeSantis said during a campaign stop at the Texas-Mexico border earlier this week. “What we're seeing here is profoundly unfair to American citizens who are having to bear the brunt of this illegal migration.”
Birthright citizenship has long been considered protected under the 14th amendment, challenging it is something his top rival in the race for the GOP nomination former President Donald Trump said he would do while in office by executive order, but never did.
DeSantis said, "Dangling the prize of citizenship to the future offspring of illegal immigrants is a major driver of illegal migration.”
“We will force the courts and Congress to finally address this failed policy,” he adds.
“This is it way too extreme to say that you are in one fell swoop going to counteract what it says in the United States Constitution that if you're born here, you're a citizen,” said U.S. Rep Kathy Castor (D-Tampa) in an interview with 10 Tampa Bay Wednesday. "I think most people across the country believe in the U.S. Constitution and don't want a politician who is trying to elevate his profile attacking our constitutional rights.”
Though the governor has made immigration issues central to how he’s governed in Florida. Using state funds to transport migrants to other parts of the country, sending resources like law enforcement officers to border states and signing legislation that cracks down on illegal immigration, which has been met with recent protests.
A recent Pew Research poll found that 47% of Americans view illegal immigration as a “very big problem” for the country, up from 38%% last year.
Experts say DeSantis will likely highlight his state-level response while trying to gain ground on Trump in the race for the nomination.
“It's about the only thing DeSantis has right now is to say, 'Look, I’ve got things accomplished in Florida. President Trump didn't get everything accomplished in D.C,'” explained Dr. Lars Hafner, 10 Tampa Bay political analyst. “But Trump can keep saying what he's saying, and it continues to push DeSantis away, and again, there's no reason to change Trump's rhetoric because he continues to increase his lead over DeSantis in the polls."