AOC accuses DeSantis and Abbott of ‘crimes against humanity’ for migrant stunts
>
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has accused the GOP governors who sent groups of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard and Washington DC of “crimes against humanity.”
Without directly naming them, the progressive New York Democrat denounced Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott in a series of tweets on Friday.
“It is appalling that far-right politicians have decided that the fall before the election is their regular time to commit crimes against humanity against refugees,” she wrote.
‘Not normally this. Lying to and trading people for TV and clicks is not politics as usual. It’s abuse,” Ocasio-Cortez added.
On Wednesday, DeSantis flew about 50 Venezuelan migrants illegally entering the US to the wealthy Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard — though many say they expected to fly to Boston.
Meanwhile, Abbott sent two buses full of about 100 migrants from the Texas border to Vice President Kamala Harris’s official residence in DC.
Another 50 were taken to the same address on Saturday, and three more buses arrived in New York City on Saturday morning.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has accused GOP governors who sent refugee groups to Martha’s Vineyard and Washington DC of ‘crimes against humanity’
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (left) and Texas Governor Greg Abbott (right) were behind the high-profile incidents that transported migrants to Martha’s Vineyard and DC this week.
Arizona Republican Governor Doug Ducey has also been transporting migrants to Washington DC since May.
The states claim passengers must sign waivers that the free travel is voluntary, but some migrants say they were misled about their destination.
The GOP governors say the stunts are designed to force federal action on the southern border crisis and spread the impact of record-breaking illegal border crossings to areas that declare themselves sanctuaries for illegal immigrants.
“Texas will continue to send migrants to refuges like Washington DC until President Biden and border Czar Harris stand up and do their job to secure the border,” Abbott said in a statement Thursday.
But Ocasio-Cortez criticized the moves as petty and misleading, tweeting, “What many Republican politicians fail to understand is that not everyone shares their zero-sum, scarcity mentality.”
“Many of us understand that immigrants and refugees are a blessing. They have so much to offer our country, and much of our growth as a nation is thanks to them, she added.
DeSantis flew about 50 Venezuelan migrants to the wealthy Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard (above), but the group was quickly taken to a base on Cape Cod
Abbott dispatched two busloads of migrants to Vice President Kamala Harris’s official residence in DC on Thursday, saying the move was to force federal action on the border crisis.
“By today’s standards, most American families would be considered undocumented or trafficked at some point in their family history,” the New York Democrat wrote.
“For the most part, people didn’t need lawyers and years of processing to come to this US until immigration became a racial issue. Remember that,” she continued.
Meanwhile, reports have emerged that the Venezuelan migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard on Wednesday were told they were going to Boston.
“They were told, ‘You have a hearing in San Antonio, but don’t worry, we’re taking you to Boston,'” Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, the executive director of Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston, told the New York Times.
He said dozens of migrants in the group learned they were heading for Martha’s Vineyard, the wealthy enclave on the island, when their plane was in the air.
He said dozens of migrants had told his team that they had only learned in the air that they would land in Tony Martha’s Vineyard rather than Boston.
“They were also told that employment and immigration assistance would be available to them if they boarded the plane,” Espinoza-Madrigal said.
“That’s not just state interference in federal immigration matters, it’s a violation of our clients’ civil rights.”
The lawyer vowed to seek a federal order to stop the interstate flights full of migrants, saying it was a violation of due process.
The Martha’s Vineyard group was quickly moved from the island to a military base on Cape Cod on Friday, where officials said there were more resources to support them.
Martha’s Vineyard declared a state of emergency on the migrants and called in the National Guard, forcing the immigrants to be moved 52 miles to Cape Cod
Pictured: A group of 50 migrants enjoyed Venezuelan food at the military base after Martha’s Vineyard declared a state of emergency over the group’s arrival
DeSantis said Friday that most of the migrants planned to come to Florida and that the trip to Martha’s Vineyard was voluntary. He did not address the migrants’ claims that they were told they were going elsewhere.
US Representative Seth Moulton, a Democrat from Massachusetts, accused DeSantis of orchestrating a political trick on the lives of the migrants.
“Playing politics with people’s lives is what governors like George Wallace did during segregation,” Moulton said, referring to Wallace’s tactic of tricking black Southerners into moving north. “Ron DeSantis is trying to earn George Wallace’s legacy.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also targeted DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott at a news conference today, urging other Republicans who disagree with their “blueprint” to “do it.” to speak’.
She said: “This is an issue and we have been clear about this, this is an inhumane issue, it is abhorrent and we should not use people, migrants, who are fleeing communism, as political pawns.”
Speaking on Thursday, DaSantis accused critics of his attempt to fly migrants to Martha’s Vineyard of “virtue signaling,” saying their concern for the well-being of the migrants was a “fraud.”
He said, “The minute even a small fraction of what those border towns go through every day is brought to their doorsteps, they go crazy and are so upset that this is happening.”