Gov. Ron DeSantis downplays coronavirus ‘Delta’ variant after CDC upgrades level of concern.

Gov. Ron DeSantis says he is sending Florida law enforcement to the Southern U.S. border to answer a call for help from the Republican governors of Texas and Arizona.

Blasting President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, DeSantis said states need to step up to address a spike in migration to the U.S.-Mexico border.

“We believe securing the Southern border is important for our country,” he said Wednesday at a news conference in Pensacola. “Where the federal government has failed, the states are stepping up.”

DeSantis, though, did not offer specifics on how many people would be sent to the border, what exactly they would be doing, and how much the operation would cost Florida taxpayers. He said those details are being ironed out.

The request for assistance is for a 16-day period, and Florida will be the first state to answer the call for help from Texas and Arizona

In the letter sent to 48 governors, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote that Biden “has proven unwilling or unable” to secure the border.

A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Two Democratic candidates for Florida governor weighed in on Twitter following DeSantis’ announcement. Charlie Crist dismissed it as a “political stunt” that will “make our streets less safe.”

Nikki Fried wrote, “Florida’s current governor just makes controversies up to get on Fox News.”

DeSantis said the situation at the U.S. border is causing more criminal activity and drug trafficking in Florida, which is the reason he is willing to divert law enforcement resources from Florida cities.

Through May, U.S. Border Patrol has logged nearly 930,000 enforcement encounters at the Southern border, which is more than double the number in 2020 during the height of the pandemic in North America. The agency is on pace to far surpass the roughly 977,500 logged in 2019.

The Florida Highway Patrol, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have committed to sending resources, as have sheriff offices in

Brevard, Escambia, Hillsborough, Holmes, Lee, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties, according to the governor’s office.

Vice President Kamala Harris recently returned from a trip to Guatemala and Mexico that focused on the issue. During her first foreign trip as vice president, she laid out a plan to deter migration that included targeting corruption and working to improve economic conditions in Central America.

In Guatemala, she delivered a blunt message to people thinking of making the dangerous trek to the United States.

“Do not come,” she said.