DeSantis disputed Biden's claim that he does not already have the power to mitigate the crisis
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized the Senate border deal endorsed by President Biden in a video on Saturday, calling it a "farce."
On Friday, the president acknowledged that he would "shut down the border" if a new bipartisan immigration deal is passed by Congress. Biden claims that he does not have that power already.
"For too long, we all know the border's been broken," Biden said in a press release. "It's long past time to fix it."
"What’s been negotiated would — if passed into law — be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country," he added. "It would give me, as president, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed. And if given that authority, I would use it the day I sign the bill into law."
SUPREME COURT SIDES WITH BIDEN IN TEXAS BORDER WIRE CASE; BORDER PATROL UNION BLASTS THE DECISION
Stopping the invasion at our border is a matter of will. It doesn’t require a so-called deal that codifies into law illegal entries in excess of 1.8 million per year and provides incentives for future illegal immigration. pic.twitter.com/ClQToc7nVi
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) January 27, 2024
In a video posted on X, the former Republican 2024 presidential candidate accused Biden of being negligent.
"This border deal is a farce," DeSantis argued. "Joe Biden already has the authority to shut the border down. He could declare a national emergency. He could stop the invasion cold if he wanted to. He does not want to."
"This so-called deal purports to give him tools so that he could actually close the border. The reality is, is it's green-lighting up to 5000 illegals every single day," he added. "That's 1.8 million plus over the course of a year, which they're codifying into laws, saying that's an appropriate number of illegal entries."
President Biden speaks during an event at Earth Rider Brewery in Superior, Wisc., on Thursday. (Nicole Neri/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
DeSantis argued that the "appropriate" number of illegal entries is really zero.
"Our policy should reflect that, that we do not want people coming to this country illegally," DeSantis said. "We should not be giving benefits and work permits to people that have come to this country illegally."
Migrants try to reach the U.S. southern border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. (Christian Torres/Anadolu via Getty Images/File)
"So Biden has the authority. He doesn't have the will. He doesn't have the political philosophy to want to actually solve the problem," he continued.
Fox News Digital's Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.
Andrea Vacchiano is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. You can follow her on X at @andrea_vacch or send story tips to
