Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday he is sending National and Florida State Guard troops to Texas to help that state put up razor wire fences on the southern border, a move in apparent defiance of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the contentious immigration issue.

DeSantis said it would be the “first-ever deployment” for the State Guard, a force he re-established in 2022 after being defunct for 75 years.

But Florida law says the State Guard, which reports directly to the governor, is to be used “exclusively within the state,” and a proposed bill to allow out-of-state deployments has not been passed by the Legislature.

DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern did not respond to a request for comment on the use of the State Guard outside of Florida.

  • profdc9@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    It would seem to me that if a governor could order military actions in another state, that would make this a nation of 50 commander-in-chiefs, not one. I would think that, if not under orders from POTUS, any military actions of the Florida National Guard in another state would be illegal.

    • Gnome Kat@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      10 months ago

      I feel the obvious thing that is happening is they are trying to normalize it in a lead up to civil war. One inch at a time they are consciously walking towards normalizing state on state interference. It’s same reason we are seeing texas trying to get medical records from a Seattle hospital. Pushing the boundaries is the MO.

    • Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Arguably, putting up razor wire isn’t military action. It’s construction. The intent is obvious of course, but the constitution doesn’t usually cover intent.

    • Zess@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Ah but this isn’t the National Guard, it’s the Florida State Guard. The first time it existed was because the actual National Guard was busy in WW2. Now lil Ronny resurrected it to use as his personal police force.

    • Revonult@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I don’t support DeSantis or the hanging of new wire, but dont National Guards get deployed to other states for disaster recovery like floods and wild fires? Not sure about the clasification of razor wire, but might not be a stretch. I agree military operations would be an overstep.

      • MutilationWave@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        The important distinction here is he is sending the Florida State Guard, which is completely separate from the Florida contingent of the National Guard. He brought the force back after it was defunct for 75 years. They are legally not allowed to act outside the borders of Florida.

        But when has law ever stopped this guy.