US: Republican states sending migrants to Democratic areas
Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis sent two planes carrying migrants to Martha’s Vineyard.
A number of Republican governors in the United States seem to be adopting a particular strategy to counter what they see as unwanted mass immigration across the border.
They have been transporting migrants to Democratic areas in northern states. Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis sent two planes carrying migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, a holiday resort for mainly wealthy residents, which lies off the shore of Boston. And Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent two buses carrying migrants close to Vice-President Kamala Harris's residence in Washington DC.
Immigration groups in both Washington DC and the wealthy Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard said they were not given an advance warning about the arrivals. Residents in some of these areas have described this as a "disgusting stunt" while the White House press secretary Karine Jean-Piere said Republican governors are using migrants as "political pawns".
Sarah Betancourt, is an immigration reporter for GBH News in Massachusetts. She told Newsday: "In a press conference on Thursday, DeSantis, the Florida Governor, said Florida is in a sanctuary state, or a state that allows un-documented people, or pro-immigration policies, but it's really unlikely he has their best interests at heart, given how migrants were essentially tricked onto the planes, and how DeSantis didn't communicate with Massachusetts officials at all."
(Photo: Migrants, including children, who arrived in Martha's Vineyard on Wednesday 14 September 2022. Credit: Reuters)
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