Chris Lange, FISM News
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Weeks after President Biden and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) presented a united front as they observed the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ian in the Sunshine State, the two are likely to be at loggerheads once again.
Amid ongoing scrutiny and legal battles over the governor’s decision to fly 50 illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard last month, a DeSantis spokesperson has indicated that new plans are underway to transport around 100 more migrants to Democratic strongholds in Illinois and Biden’s home state of Delaware, The Associated Press reported.
The second round of DeSantis’ controversial migrant relocation efforts originally scheduled to take place early this month was delayed in the aftermath of the Category 4 storm.
“While Florida has had all hands on deck responding to our catastrophic hurricane, the immigration relocation program remains active,” DeSantis Communications Director Taryn Fenske wrote in an email to the Associate Press, adding that the effort will resume at the beginning of December, according to the news service.
The announcement shows that DeSantis remains undaunted by a flurry of Democratic outrage and backlash over the Massachusetts flights. Last week, a Democratic Texas sheriff certified that the migrants were victims of a crime. The U.S. Treasury Department is probing DeSantis’ alleged misuse of funds to pay for the flights. Additionally, some of the migrants have brought a lawsuit against the governor. They allege that they were “tricked” into boarding the flights to the affluent island located south of Cape Cod where former President Barack Obama owns a sprawling mansion.
Florida’s legislature had previously signed off on a $12 million budget item to relocate illegal immigrants from Florida to other locations. The money reportedly came from interest earned from federal funds given to Florida under the American Rescue Plan, which the Treasury Dept., among others, asserts is an unlawful use of those funds.
Bexar County, Texas Sheriff Javier Salazar’s certification last Friday that the charter flights constitute a crime paves the way for the migrants to obtain their visas. Salazar said he is investigating whether DeSantis can be charged with unlawful restraint in the case.
DeSantis responded to the certification with his usual defiance, quickly turning the tables on Salazar.
“Florida gave them an opportunity to seek greener pastures in a sanctuary jurisdiction that offered greater resources for them, as we expected,” DeSantis said in a statement responding to the certification. “Unless the MA national guard has abandoned these individuals, they have been provided accommodations, sustenance, clothing, and more options to succeed following their unfair enticement into the United States, unlike the 53 migrants who died in a truck found abandoned in Bexar County this June,” the governor continued.
FISM reported extensively on the tragic event to which DeSantis referred.
The Florida Governor joined the ranks of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) who led the way on migrant relocation efforts, busing illegal immigrants to Democratic-led “sanctuary” cities. All three have at various times mocked the Biden administration’s outrage over their actions, given that Biden officials have been engaging in the same activity for months, if not longer, in covert operations conducted under the cover of darkness.