Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was in Arizona this week for his first trip to the border region as a presidential candidate. DeSantis met with local law enforcement personnel including Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels in a surprise visit to Sierra Vista on Wednesday. The city is about 30 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.
Southern Arizona Congressman Raúl Grijalva, whose district encompasses parts of Cochise County, tweetedthat DeSantis’ visit was “to pander to the same old race baiting anti-immigrant extremist politicians and officials in southern Arizona."
Both Dannels and DeSantis have been outspoken critics of border policy under the Biden administration. The Florida governor is latest in a growing list of mostly-conservative lawmakers to visit Cochise County in recent months.
Last summer, DeSantis arranged a flight to transport migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in one of several relocation actions staged by GOP-led states.
Criminal charges including unlawful restraint were recently filed by a Texas sheriff's office over the flights.
