Gov. DeSantis blasts 'hypocrisy' of Biden's reported domestic travel bans amid immigration orders
DeSantis called Biden's reported consideration 'a huge contradiction'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called President Biden's reported consideration of domestic travel bans during the coronavirus pandemic amid signing immigration executive orders "a huge contradiction."
"This stinks to high heaven," the Republican governor told "Sunday Morning Futures" during an exclusive interview.
"It is a huge contradiction and you can't square wanting opening borders for illegal aliens, but then also restricting U.S. citizens from basically traveling around the country as they see fit and I think the American people see the hypocrisy in that."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Earlier this month, President Biden signed three executive orders on immigration, including one to create a task force to reunify migrants separated under the Trump administration – part of a sweeping push by Biden to roll back his predecessor’s immigration policies.
Last month, the Biden administration issued a 100-day "pause" on deportations of illegal immigrants – a dramatic move that reportedly led to thousands of migrants heading to the border in the hopes of entering the United States.
Five days later, a federal judge temporarily blocked Biden’s attempt to put a moratorium on deportations after Texas sued over the policy.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The New York Times reported earlier this month that health authorities in San Diego have ruled that those crossing into California must stay in a hotel for 10 days before being allowed to continue their travels in the United States.
The newspaper noted, citing volunteers working with migrants in Texas, that "there is no similar quarantine requirement" for migrants who arrive in that state with no coronavirus symptoms.
The volunteers reportedly said that the migrants released by Border Patrol are being allowed to board buses and travel to other destinations.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}At least 1,000 migrants have been allowed to cross into Texas recently, the New York Times reported earlier this month, citing border activists. The newspaper noted that Border Patrol has not released any official estimates.
"Of course they’re not being screened for COVID at the southern border because this is all political," DeSantis said on Sunday.
"So he's [Biden’s] opening the border [and] he’s letting illegals pour in," he continued. "They’re not doing any COVID tests. They’re [migrants are] just coming into the communities."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DeSantis stressed that "we have no idea what type of COVID or other things they may be carrying, but yet he wants to potentially make you take a test if you just get on an airplane and fly from one American city to the next or he wants to prevent travel to the state of Florida."
DeSantis was referencing a report that Biden is considering domestic travel bans to counter new strains of COVID-19 from spreading nationwide.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On Wednesday, The Miami Herald reported that the Biden administration is considering whether to impose domestic travel restrictions, including on Florida.
DeSantis slammed Biden's reported consideration on Sunday, calling it "unconstitutional" and "a political attack against Florida."
White House press secretary Jen Psaki was pressed during a Thursday press briefing about the administration’s alleged consideration of a domestic travel ban.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We are always considering what steps are necessary to keep the American people safe, but we are not currently in the process of – no decisions have been made around additional public health measures that would delay or would change, I should say, domestic travel considerations," Psaki said.
Florida relies heavily on tourism, which means any attempt to stop interstate travel could have vast repercussions on the Sunshine State.
But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida leads in the number of cases of the new B.1.1.7 strain – a more highly infectious variant of the coronavirus, first reported in the U.K.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Health officials are worried the new strains of the coronavirus that have emerged could sideline progress made by the vaccine, as the new variants require different treatments and change "the effectiveness of current vaccines," the CDC has warned.
DeSantis, however, has pointed to progress the state has made since the summer, when Florida was seeing spiking caseloads.
He told host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, "States that are always held up by people in Biden's administration, like New York, have way higher per capita patients hospitalized for COVID right now."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"So there's no basis in medical, there's no basis in economics, there's no basis in reality to do this except to punish a state that is doing it better than what his experts have recommended," he continued.
"Biden is a lockdowner, his advisers are lockdowners. Lockdowns don't work. We’ve demonstrated that."
He said Florida is "not turning back" and the Biden administration "will not be able to get away with targeting Florida."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DeSantis noted on Sunday that "Florida schools have been open the whole school year."
"Every parent in Florida has the right to send their child to in-person instruction, every worker has a right to work and earn a living and put food on their table and every business has the right to operate and consequently, our state is doing very well compared to these other states in terms of education and economy," he continued.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
Fox News’ Caitlin McFall, Brittany De Lea and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.