MARTHA’S VINEYARD, Mass., Sept 16 (Reuters) – Florida’s Republican governor on Friday defended his decision to send dozens of migrants to the wealthy vacation island of Martha’s Vineyard from Texas, saying similar actions could follow in as a political dispute over border security deepens. in view of the American elections in November.
DeSantis on Wednesday claimed credit for a pair of chartered flights that carried about 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., as part of a broader Republican effort to shift responsibility for cross-border migrants to Democratic leaders.
At a news conference in Daytona Beach, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blamed Democratic President Joe Biden for what he described as a failure to stop migrants from crossing the US-Mexico border as they have been detained 1.8 million this fiscal year.
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DeSantis said the Florida Legislature set aside $12 million to transport migrants out of the state and that his administration would likely use the funds “to protect Florida.”
“There can be more flights, there can be buses,” he said to cheers and applause from supporters in the crowd.
The state paid $615,000 to Vertol Systems Company Inc, an aviation business, on Sept. 8 as part of an “unauthorized alien relocation program,” Florida state records showed . The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The flights to Martha’s Vineyard follow a busing effort by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, another Republican, that has sent more than 10,000 migrants to the Democratic-controlled cities of Washington, New York and Chicago since April. Arizona’s Republican governor has also sent more than 1,800 migrants to Washington.
Unlike those big cities, the island south of Boston is home to about 20,000 year-round residents and is known as a vacation spot for wealthy liberals like former Democratic presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Read more
On Friday morning in Martha’s Vineyard, the migrants, a mostly Venezuelan group that included half a dozen children, boarded buses en route to a ferry to Cape Cod in a transport organized by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker. republican He said they would be temporarily housed at a military base on Cape Cod.
The scene left some of the island residents in tears who volunteered to host them in a church for two nights. Locals had come together to donate money, toiletries and toys for the migrants. A local thrift store donated clean clothes, restaurants organized meals in shifts, and pro bono lawyers flew in to help migrants with paperwork and immigration cases.
“I want them to have a good life,” said Lisa Belcastro, who helped organize cribs and supplies at St. Andrews, which is among the expensive white clapboard houses in Edgartown. “I want them to come to America and be embraced. They all want to work.”
Venezuelan immigrants stand in front of St. Andrew’s Church in Edgartown, Massachusetts, U.S., September 14, 2022. Ray Ewing/Vineyard Gazette/Photo via REUTERS/File Photo
“I like XATTEL”
DeSantis, who is running for re-election in November and is often mentioned as a possible 2024 presidential candidate, said his administration led migrants from Texas, not his own state, to the escape of the island because many of the migrants who arrive in Florida come from Texas.
In addition to DeSantis and Abott’s re-election bids, November’s midterm elections will determine whether Democrats retain control of Congress.
Many migrants who cross into the United States through the southwest border are immediately deported to Mexico or other countries under a COVID-19 pandemic policy. But some nationalities, including Venezuelans, cannot be expelled because Mexico will not accept them and many seek asylum in the United States.
The White House has criticized the efforts of Republican governors, saying the migrants were being used in a political gimmick.
“They were children. They were mothers. They were fleeing communism. And what did Governor DeSantis and Governor Abbott do to them? They used them as political pawns, they treated them as objects,” the White House press secretary said , Karine Jean-Pierre, in a press conference on Friday.
The legal basis for the Florida government to gather the migrants in a different state remained unclear. US government lawyers are exploring potential litigation surrounding the governors’ efforts, a Biden administration official told Reuters.
The migrants taken to Martha’s Vineyard said they had recently been admitted to the United States on humanitarian parole after fleeing Venezuela and were staying at a shelter in San Antonio, Texas, when they were approached by a woman who identified as “Pearl.”
The woman persuaded them to board the flights by tricking them into thinking they were going to Boston and that they would be provided with shelter and job assistance for three months, they said.
Many said they told people arranging the flights that they had appointments with immigration authorities to attend in other cities, said Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, the director of Advocates for Civil Rights, a group of Boston that helps migrants.
“The organizers of this show said ‘Don’t worry, this will be taken care of,'” he said.
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Reporting by Jonathan Allen in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., and Rich McKay in Atlanta; Additional reporting by Ted Hesson and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington and Kristina Cooke in San Francisco; Editing by Mica Rosenberg and Jonathan Oatis
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