See where GOP governors Abbott, Ducey — and now DeSantis — have sent migrants. And how many

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis followed the lead of fellow Republican governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Doug Ducey of Arizona when he claimed responsibility for sending a plane carrying 50 immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, on Wednesday.

Abbott and Ducey, who govern states that share a border with Mexico, have sent thousands of immigrants, largely asylum seekers from Central America, to the mostly Democratic locales of Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago. Now, Martha’s Vineyard, a wealthy enclave, has been added.

Critics have called the flights and bus trips a case of cruel political theatrics aimed at calling attention to GOP opposition to what Republicans call “Biden’s Border Crisis.” The Republicans say border states like theirs shoulder an inordinate share of the burden of caring for asylum seekers.

“If you have folks that are inclined to think Florida is a good place, our message to them is we are not a sanctuary state, and it’s better to be able to go into a sanctuary jurisdiction,” DeSantis said Thursday at a press conference in Niceville, in the Florida Panhandle. “And yes, we will help facilitate that transport for you, to be able to go to greener pastures.”

Immigration advocates panned the move by DeSantis. The migrants dropped off in Martha’s Vineyard were not from Florida but Texas.

“Shame on you, Governor Abbott. Shame on you, Governor DeSantis,” said Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, at a press conference Thursday in front of Vice President Kamala Harris’ Washington, D.C., home, where two busloads of immigrants from Texas had arrived earlier in the day. “These are human beings and they’re being treated like human cargo.”

Garcia said the organization would begin a Stop-the-Buses campaign in Texas border towns to try to prevent additional buses from transporting more immigrants.

This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 4:12 PM.

Ben Wieder

McClatchy DC

202-383-6125

Ben Wieder is an investigative reporter in McClatchy’s Washington bureau and for the Miami Herald. He worked previously at the Center for Public Integrity and Stateline. His work has been honored by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, National Press Foundation, Online News Association and Association of Health Care Journalists.