Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spent taxpayer money to fly immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, and some of them “will end up in Florida anyway,” said Domingo Garcia, the president of the Latin American League of United Citizens (LULAC). . ).
The roughly 50 migrants arrived on the island earlier this week, surprising a community that had not expected their arrival but quickly worked to coordinate and address the migrants’ needs. On Friday, the group was moved to a military base to receive shelter and humanitarian support, officials said.
The flight stunt was part of a series of efforts by Republican governors, who, critical of federal efforts to secure the southern border, began moving migrants to liberal cities and states. Also this week, two busloads of immigrants sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott arrived outside Vice President Kamala Harris’ official residence in the nation’s capital.
Many of the immigrants sent to Massachusetts didn’t want to stay on Martha’s Vineyard because they have family or friends in other parts of the country like Miami and Portland, Oregon, and are now trying to figure out how to get tickets to those places, said Garcia. Three people he spoke with wanted to go to Florida, he added.
“It’s a political stunt,” Garcia told CNN by phone Saturday. “They’ll end up in Miami.”
Immigrants released from state custody often move to other cities in the US as they go through immigration procedures.
CNN retraces the steps taken to get migrants on flights to Martha’s Vineyard
The two flights of migrants that arrived in Massachusetts — and for which Florida’s governor claimed credit — came from Texas, not Florida. But DeSantis has been talking for months about plans to involve his state in redirecting immigrants away from the southern border and into liberal areas. And on Friday, he raised the prospect of buses and “probably more” flights full of migrants being paid for by Florida, adding that “these efforts are just beginning.”
Garcia said he personally spoke with about 11 immigrants in Martha’s Vineyard on Friday and, separately, with some immigrants in DC. Most of the immigrants were happy with the “welcome they had on Martha’s Vineyard,” but felt they had been used for politics, Garcia said.
He criticized DeSantis and Abbott for their treatment of immigrants, saying the governors want to “score political points with their base.”
Democratic leaders, immigrant advocates and federal officials have also denounced the two governors’ moves. White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre accused the governors of using immigrants as “political pawns” and said their actions amounted to a “cruel, premeditated political stunt.”
Lawyers for Civil Rights, a group of attorneys representing more than 30 of the immigrants who flew to Massachusetts, on Saturday asked Massachusetts Attorney General Rachel Rollins and the state attorney general to open criminal investigations into the flights, also calling “political trick. ”
A spokesman for Rollins’ office told CNN they had no comment.
Rollins told reporters Thursday that she would speak with members of the Justice Department about DeSantis’ sending the immigrants to Massachusetts, saying at the time she didn’t have enough information to say whether she broke any laws in doing so, and added the first priority was to ensure that the people who arrived were respected.
A spokesman for the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office said the office is in contact with federal and state partners, gathering evidence and evaluating all legal options related to the two flights.
“Our office continues to review all information related to this situation,” spokeswoman Chloe Gotsey told CNN.
Meanwhile, Garcia on Saturday described the scene when the migrants left Martha’s Vineyard for Joint Base Cape Cod — already an emergency shelter designated by the state emergency management agency — a day earlier and local volunteers said goodbye to them .
“Everybody was clapping and cheering for them,” he said. “It’s really what America is supposed to be.”
