Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday made a surprise visit to the southern border, his first trip there as a GOP presidential primary candidate, to meet with Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels and other law enforcement officials in Sierra Vista, Arizona.
The trip comes as the fight on immigration is intensifying while the GOP primary campaign starts, and as DeSantis is arguing that former President Donald Trump, who leads in the nation's polls for the primary, didn't do enough while he was in the White House to strengthen the border, NBC News reported Wednesday.
DeSantis is also at the border for the first time as a presidential candidate at a time when California Gov. Gavin Newsom is accusing Florida officials of having committed crimes by sending migrants from Florida to Sacramento, Calif., this past week.
However, a Florida official, while confirming Tuesday that the state had arranged the flights, and a spokesperson for Florida's Division of Emergency Management said in a written statement that "through verbal and written consent, these volunteers indicated they wanted to go to California."
DeSantis has not commented on the California flights, but in other instances, he has touted migrant relocations that Florida arranged, including sending migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
Last month, the Florida governor also signed a law on illegal immigration that included $12 million earmarked for other migrant relocation flights.
DeSantis' unannounced trip came after stops in Iowa, South Carolina, and New Hampshire. He's also scheduled later this week to attend fundraisers in Texas, to speak at the North Carolina Republican Party Convention, and to visit Oklahoma before heading to Nevada next Saturday.
Cochise County includes the site of Wyatt Earp's gunfight at the OK Corral and has in recent years become involved in the battle over immigration. It is a popular stopping point for conservative politicians to speak.
Wednesday marks the governor's first trip to Cochise County. However, he sent law enforcement personnel to the state in 2021 upon the request of then-Gov. Doug Ducey.
DeSantis also sent more than 1,000 National Guard members and law enforcement personnel from Florida to Texas last month to assist with Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star initiative.
In response to reports of Ron DeSantis' latest political stunt, DNC National Press Secretary and Rapid Response Director Ammar Moussa and the Democratic National Committee released in a statement Wednesday that DeSantis' Arizona trip was a "political stunt" that was funded by Florida taxpayers, to allow him to "stand alongside a right-wing sheriff who pals around with hate groups and repeatedly lies about the border."
"Using taxpayer dollars to exploit desperate people, including children, for his own political gain tells you exactly what kind of president Ron DeSantis would be," the statement said.