DeSantis immigration plan would end birthright citizenship, finish border wall − and counter Biden, Trump

WASHINGTON — Facing an increasingly uphill campaign, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is starting to amp up his critiques of former President Donald Trump, including in a border security plan he unveiled Monday.

DeSantis appeared to reference Trump during a speech in south Texas by saying that leaders of "both parties" are always "chirping" about problems on the border, but "never getting the job done."

To be sure, DeSantis focused his attack on Democratic President Joe Biden. But before he can run against Biden, he has to catch Trump for the Republican presidential nomination.

While agreeing with Trump on many immigration policies, such as ending birthright citizenship, DeSantis also proposed items that he believes the last Republican president left undone, including completion of a border wall with Mexico and more aggressive moves against drug cartels.

On the border

Border issues are particularly important to Republican voters. The subject played a large role in Trump's rise to the presidency during the 2016 presidential campaign.

DeSantis' biggest echo of Trump is the proposal to end birthright citizenship, the constitutional declaration that any child born in the United States is automatically an American citizen. But changing that would likely require a constitutional amendment. A simple executive order would probably be struck down by the courts.

Some of DeSantis' other proposals − including a plan to send more U.S. troops into Mexico to fight drug cartels − would require cooperation from other countries.

The Florida governor also made other familiar-sounding proposals to end "catch-and-release" programs and restore a "Remain In Mexico" policy, which requires asylum applicants to remain in that country while their claims are being processed in the U.S. DeSantis also proposed pay increases for the Border Patrol.

Other Republican candidates, from former Vice President Mike Pence to former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, have also vowed to get tough on the border, while looking for ways to distinguish themselves from Trump.

Haley, for example, has distanced herself from Trump's policy of separating migrant children from other family members. She told CBS News in May that both parties are responsible for problems on the border, and it "should have been dealt with a long time ago."

Scott has pushed a Senate proposal to provide $10 billion for a border wall, as well as $5 billion for surveillance technology to block illegal border crossings.

Pence, a member of the Trump White House, has mostly promoted the administration's border policies.

'Falling like a rock'

Trump and his allies have said DeSantis and other 2024 Republican candidates have always supported Trump policies, particularly his border plan. The former president and his supporter are alleging that other White House hopefuls are becoming more critical because Trump is rising in the polls and candidates such as DeSantis are struggling.

"He's falling like a rock," Trump said during a speech Sunday night in Michigan.

In a statement, the Trump campaign claimed that, as president, he established "the most secure southern border in our nation's history," and enforced immigration law "to inject long overdue accountability into the system."

Democrats said DeSantis is trying to use the border to try and out-Trump Trump and his base.

"DeSantis’s hollow talking points won’t distract voters from the fact that his desperate MAGA candidacy is more concerned with appeasing the right-wing fringes than actually solving problems for the American people," said Democratic National Committee spokesperson Ammar Moussa.

Front-running Trump

Trump has strengthened his position in the 2024 presidential race, despite two indictments and ongoing investigations.

As DeSantis gave his border speech on Monday morning, the Real Clear Politics website's average of polls put DeSantis at 21.5% among potential Republican voters, well behind Trump at 52.1%.

Trump's lead has grown in spite of indictments involving a hush money scheme in New York state and federal obstruction of justice allegations involving classified documents in Florida.

The GOP frontrunner is also under investigation in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., over efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden. Pollsters say many Republicans agree with Trump's allegations that the investigations are a plot by Democrats to damage his presidential bid.

'No Excuses'

DeSantis' critique of Trump includes what he describes as a failure to complete a border wall between the U.S.-Mexico border.

During a news conference after his border speech, DeSantis noted that parts of the wall in Arizona have been breached by individuals bringing drugs into the country. The Florida governor stood behind a podium with a sign that said "No Excuses," a slogan that could be applied to Trump as well as Biden.

DeSantis also took on Trump directly during his news conference.

“I was shocked when they were telling me that Obama’s first four years had more deportations than Trump’s term, which is incredible that that would be the case," the Florida governor said.

As for border barriers, he said "obviously, you did have some wall built, but not nearly enough."

The border issue is likely to surface at Republican debates, though it is not certain that Trump will participate.

DeSantis v. Trump

DeSantis has taken a number of jabs at Trump in recent months, beyond border policy.

In March, DeSantis said "I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair," a reference to the New York state prosecution of Trump.

DeSantis has also said he would avoid chaos and "daily drama," references to the many controversies of the Trump years.

In an interview with Piers Morgan, DeSantis said: "So, the way we run the government, I think, is no daily drama − focus on the big picture and put points on the board and I think that’s something that’s very important.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DeSantis border plan: End birthright citizenship, compete with Trump