DeSantis says two flights he chartered ‘just the beginning’ of efforts to relocate migrants

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said during a press conference Friday that the transport of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., is “just the beginning” of efforts to relocate those crossing the border.

This week, DeSantis chartered two flights carrying migrants, the majority of whom are believed to be from Venezuela, from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard.

The flights are similar to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) decision the past several months to bus migrants to Democratic-led cities such as Washington, D.C., and New York.

“Now we see, in New York and D.C., they used to beat their chests when Trump was in office, saying they are sanctuary jurisdictions. Then the minute Texas starts busing there, they get very bent out of shape about it,” DeSantis said. “These are just the beginning efforts. We got an infrastructure in place now. There is going to be a lot more that’s happening.” 

DeSantis said these efforts are helping “put this issue on the front burner,” adding that Florida is using $12 million the state budget allocated to a program to transport migrants out of the state.

The governor claimed most of the migrants, who were in Texas prior to the journey to Martha’s Vineyard, were trying to get to Florida. Florida itself is home to a large Hispanic population.

“So they’ve been in Texas, identifying people that are trying to come to Florida, and then offering them free transportation to sanctuary jurisdictions,” DeSantis said, adding there will be more buses and flights for migrants in the future. 

DeSantis also addressed allegations that the migrants were lied to about where they were going, saying they all signed forms and were given packets with maps of Massachusetts. 

Reports have surfaced that migrants in Martha’s Vineyard thought they were going to Boston and are now struggling to attend their immigration court dates in Texas. 

Democrats have seethed over the moves and decried them as inhumane. The White House compared the transporting of migrants to human trafficking.  

“These were children. They were moms. They were fleeing communism,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “And what did Gov. DeSantis and Gov. Abbott do to them? They used them as political pawns, treated them like cattle in a cruel, premeditated political stunt.”