Migrant Transports Kick Off Political Firestorm

Republican governors’ efforts to send illegal migrants to Democratic so-called “sanctuary cities” have kicked off a political firestorm.

Summary

Efforts by Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to send illegal migrants to Democratic so-called “sanctuary cities” have kicked off a political firestorm.

• Gov. Abbott has sent thousands of migrants to New York, Chicago, and Washington D.C. in recent months and on Thursday sent two migrant buses to the residence of Vice President Kamala Harris.
• Abbott defended the policy, saying, “The Biden-Harris administration continues ignoring and denying the historic crisis at our southern border, which has endangered and overwhelmed Texas communities for almost two years.” New York, Chicago, and Washington D.C. are all self-proclaimed “sanctuary cities” for illegal immigrants.
• Gov. DeSantis took credit for the arrival of two planes of migrants on the tony vacation island of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts as “part of Florida’s relocation program to transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary destinations.”
• The Florida governor said the flights were necessary as President Joe Biden “has refused to lift a finger” to stop the massive influx of illegal immigration at the southern border. “We’ve worked on innovative ways to be able to protect the state of Florida from the impact of Biden’s border policies,” DeSantis said.
• President Joe Biden accused the governors of “playing politics with human beings” and insisted the migration process was “safe and orderly and humane” without mentioning his administration had also sponsored middle-of-the-night migrant transports.
• An Abbott spokesperson responded, “The White House is full of a bunch of hypocrites, led by the Hypocrite-in-Chief who has been flying planeloads of migrants across the country and oftentimes in the cover of night.”

• The New York Times interviewed the Venezuelan migrants flown to Massachusetts. One migrant alleged a woman named Perla offered a free flight to a “sanctuary” in Massachusetts. Venezuelans fleeing political and economic strife are the fastest-growing migrant group coming to the United States.
• CNN wrote Republican governors’ actions were a “stunt” and a “cynical competition” but noted it may “surprise” readers that many migrants were appreciative of the transport.
• The Washington Post reported DeSantis previewed the Martha’s Vineyard migrant flight at a G.O.P. donor retreat last weekend. DeSantis called Abbott’s efforts “brilliant” and an important way to send a message to liberal sanctuary cities far from the border.

• National Review pointed out a virtue of Abbott’s migrant transports is that they force sanctuary cities “to confront the real-world consequences of encouraging illegal migration. If a few coach buses of migrants are enough to cause Democrats to declare emergencies and beg for the National Guard, how much more serious for border states are the estimated 18,000 illegal crossings per day?”
• Fox News covered the Twitter response to a statement from Visit Martha’ Vineyard calling the arrival of 50 migrants “a humanitarian crisis.”
• Breitbart noted a Telemundo reporter said Martha’s Vineyard residents were refusing on-camera interviews so as to not appear “inhumane” and several privately admitted they didn’t want migrants on the vacation island.

On Your Radar

Judge appoints special master, denying DOJ access to classified records (The Hill)

Ukraine combs mass burial site, says signs of torture seen (AP News)

What Will Become of ‘America’s Blackest City’? (POLITICO)

Georgia 2020 election inquiry may lead to prison sentences, prosecutor says (Washington Post)

Right after winning the G.O.P. Senate primary in New Hampshire, Don Bolduc reversed his stance on 2020 election results (New York Times)

Stacey Abrams says she supports abortion ‘until the time of birth’ in some cases (FOX News)

Chinese and Russian militaries share a potential weakness, new US report finds (CNN)

The Socialist Billionaire Who’s Getting a Sweet Tax Deal (National Review)

Trump’s surprise breakthrough with Hispanic voters could spell doom for Democrats (Washington Examiner)

Return to Freespoke

© Dominic Moore, 2022