Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called out Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis amid anger toward a recent political stunt in which DeSantis shipped migrants who'd arrived in Texas seeking asylum off to Massachusetts without letting them know where they were going.
Earlier this month, DeSantis sparked outrage after he took responsibility for shipping about 50 migrants—including families with young children—to Martha's Vineyard, Mass.
According to reports, the migrants were shipped from Texas after being told they were headed to Boston where they expected to receive expedited work permits. Instead, they were flown to Martha's Vineyard—a longtime New England summer vacation spot located just south of Cape Cod—and no one on the island nor in Massachusetts' Republican Governor's office had any advance notice of their arrival.
Islanders were praised for helping the asylum seekers, offering them food, shelter, and even healthcare.
Responding to the scandal, Buttigieg said that the stunt is "the kind you see from people who don’t have a solution" and nailed the real reason DeSantis did it:
“it is hurting people in order to get attention.”
You can hear Buttigieg's full remarks in the video below.
Buttigieg said:
“These are the kind of stunts you see from people who don’t have a solution."
"Governor DeSantis was in Congress. Where was he when they were debating immigration reform? What have any of these people done to be part of the solution?"
“So, you know, I get that if you’re after attention… it’s one thing to call attention to a problem when you have a course of action… it’s another thing to call attention to a problem because the problem is actually more useful to you than the solution, and that helps you call attention to yourself."
"And that's what's going on and the problem is, it’s one thing if it was just people being obnoxious, but human beings are being impacted by that."
"You flee a communist regime in Venezuela, you come here, and then somebody tricks you—somebody using Florida taxpayer money for some reason—tricks you in going from Texas to Massachusetts.”
“It is not just ineffectual, it is hurting people in order to get attention.”
Many concurred with and praised Buttigieg for calling out DeSantis.
DeSantis made clear he intends to use “every penny” of the $12 million his state budgeted to relocate migrants via bus and plane to liberal states he feels are not addressing immigration concerns at the nation's southern border.
DeSantis previously complained many migrants who cross the border into Texas end up in Florida. He stated Florida government employees are stationed in Texas to "profile" any migrants who might be headed to Florida.
Earlier, California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom implored the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate whether the migrants were lured to Martha's Vineyard based on false promises of employment.
