Ron DeSantis vows 'zero' amnesty for illegal migrants if elected, calls them 'aliens' at fifth GOP Debate

DES MOINES, IOWA: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis vowed mass deportation of immigrants from the United States if he is elected president at the fifth GOP presidential debate in Iowa that took place on January 10.

He has maintained a strong stance on the subject throughout his campaign, and once again made his stand clear on the stage at Drake University.

'USA cannot have amnesty'

Bringing up the subject, moderator Jake Tapper stated, "There are more than 10 million undocumented immigrants already living in the United States… Will any of them be allowed to stay in the United States under your administration?"

"The number of people that will be amnestied when I am president is zero," responded DeSantis. "We cannot do an amnesty in this country."

DeSantis claimed that amnesty led "more people to want to come illegally", and also sought removal of benefits "for people who are here illegally".

"You know, California, you can go - illegal aliens - and you can get free health insurance coverage," DeSantis dropped the derogatory term in a mocking tone.

"You're here illegally and they're doing that? We should not let states provide these benefits. You know in Florida, obviously, we don't do that. We don't allow driver's licenses and all that. But some states do, and it creates a magnet for people coming in," he continued.

"So federally no benefits, no enticements to come in. And then the states, we're going to crack down on sanctuary states and sanctuary cities."

Ron DeSantis claimed to expose liberal hypocrisy over illegal migrants

He also slammed the 'hypocrisy' of liberal elites over the issue.

He said, "I showed the hypocrisy of all this back in 2022. Because we have a program to transport illegal aliens to sanctuary jurisdictions."

"And one of the places we sent 52 (undocumented migrants, was) beautiful, liberal Martha's Vineyard," he continued.

"You know what? These were folks (who) were on their high horse saying how they were sanctuary jurisdiction, saying nobody's illegal, all refugees are welcome - that's what they had in their town. The minute even 50 came up, they called the state of emergency and deported them off the island the next day."

"How do you think Texas feels? How do you think all these other communities feel that are being overwhelmed? So we cannot have liberal elites in this country imposing policies on the rest of us that they are not willing to deal with the consequences of themselves," he concluded.