(09-15-2022, 05:05 PM)GMDino Wrote: I saw a few people say he was "trafficking" them because he did not contact any of the appropriate agencies, but I don't know the law and wouldn't accuse him of such a thing.

(09-15-2022, 08:59 PM)StoneTheCrow Wrote: Years and years of thousands coming across unchecked, out of sight and out of mind. 50 of ‘em get a free ticket to Martha’s Vineyard and look at yourselves

(09-16-2022, 10:49 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: Illegal immigrants do also have rights under our constitution. Being transported in that way under false pretenses is reprehensible. Having it done for cheap political points is quite possibly one of the lowest things a person could do. Laughing about it really make you no better.

(09-16-2022, 11:13 AM)StoneTheCrow Wrote: Laughing at how it takes this for the border problem to suddenly be in the spotlight INSTEAD of say, 50+ dead from heat exhaustion in the back of a truck not two months ago. If that makes me reprehensible…okay, sure.

(09-16-2022, 11:21 AM)Nately120 Wrote: It'll be interesting to see how this plays out on the national level.  If DeSantis has presidential aspirations I wonder if stuff like this can play well enough outside of the hardcore "punish the blue states" conservatives for him to get the independent support to win the white house in 2024.  Maybe that's all too far away to matter.

(09-16-2022, 11:25 AM)StoneTheCrow Wrote: I’d say it’s definitely too far away. We’re dogs chasing cars.

(09-16-2022, 11:28 AM)Nately120 Wrote: Maybe...stuff from the 90s was brought up against Hillary, so never say never.  The GOP just seems a bit smug, maybe rightfully so, when I see DeSantis pulling this ultra-conservative "kiss my ass, nyeah nyeah nyeah" stuff that most certainly helped doom Trump to a single term.  But as you said, DeSantis is probably doing this stuff to lock down the Florida vote and he can maybe spend the next 2 years trying to play the role of a semi moderate with national appeal if he actually has the ability to consider that people who don't already agree with him are worthy of being taken into account.

Quote:Maybe he *IS* Trump lite with the inability to think through things and just acting in ways to get attention?

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article265853866.html

DeSantis’ remarks prompt more questions on where migrant flights originated 
BY ANA CEBALLOS AND LAWRENCE MOWER 
HERALD/TIMES TALLAHASSEE BUREAU UPDATED SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 6:41 PM 

During a press conference on Sept. 15, Gov. Ron DeSantis talked about the situation at the southern border and why Florida is sending migrants to other parts of the country, including Martha's Vineyard. BY WEAR VIA THE FLORIDA CHANNEL READ MORE Migrants taken to Martha’s Vineyard Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office took credit for sending two planes with migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts Wednesday night, jump-starting a program to relocate migrants out of the state.  

A day after Gov. Ron DeSantis took credit for sending undocumented immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard, the governor suggested at a press conference on Thursday that his efforts prevented those migrants from ever making it into Florida. 

“One of the reasons why we want to transfer [people is] because, obviously it’s expensive if people are coming here, you got to pay taxes, social services, and all these other things,” DeSantis said at a Thursday news conference in Niceville, which is just north of Fort Walton Beach in the Panhandle. If Florida can send people to so-called sanctuary cities instead, “Well, then the chance that they come to Florida goes down dramatically,” he said. 

His comments raise questions about Florida’s plans to relocate undocumented immigrants, in protest of President Joe Biden’s immigration policies. DeSantis’ administration is only allowed to “transport unauthorized aliens from this state,” according to budget language approved by state lawmakers this year. The governor’s office did not immediately respond when asked whether the migrants had moved to Florida or whether the state-funded program helped transport migrants from another state. DeSantis provided no details about the flights during a Thursday news conference. 

DeSantis’ office took credit for sending two planes with migrants to the summer resort island south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on Wednesday night. Massachusetts state and local officials, and migrants, meanwhile, have told some news outlets that they had been in Texas prior to boarding the flight. About 50 undocumented immigrants, who appear mostly to be from Venezuela, touched down in Martha’s Vineyard in two separate flights, one at 3:12 p.m. and another at 3:30, and made stops in Crestview, Florida, and Charlotte, North Carolina, according to the flight tracking company, FlightAware. 

The two flights operated by Ultimate JetCharters, which DeSantis said he chartered, originated from Texas, the Martha’s Vineyard Airport director confirmed to 7News BostonWHDH. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott denied any involvement in chartering the flights to Martha’s Vineyard. “Our office has had conversations with Governor DeSantis and his team about supporting our busing strategy to provide much-needed relief to our overwhelmed and overrun border communities. 

Though we were not involved in these initial planes to Martha’s Vineyard, we appreciate the support in responding to this national crisis and helping Texans,” Renae Eze, Abbott’s press secretary, said in a statement. 

Under the $12 million program approved by Florida lawmakers at DeSantis’ urging, the Department of Transportation was supposed to hire a private contractor “to facilitate the transport of unauthorized aliens from this state.” The money set aside for those contracts came from interest the state earned from federal COVID relief dollars. 

The Department of Transportation has not said which company it contracted with to perform the work, although such contracts are required to be posted online within 30 days under state law. Generally, a state contract would show who the state is paying to perform a service, how much it is costing Florida taxpayers and any other requirements the state sets for the vendor.

 According to language in the state budget, the program applies to “unauthorized aliens” who are unlawfully present in the United States. It cites a specific federal law that says the term “alien” means “any person not a citizen or national of the United States.” That can include different categories, such as legal immigrants who are in the country with visas, and even some who have received refugee or asylum status. 

“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. “And yes, we will help facilitate that transport for you, to be able to go to greener pastures.” 

He compared it to a longstanding federal program to relocate asylum seekers and other migrants from the border. 

“Biden would fly people in the middle of the night, dump them all across this country,” DeSantis said. “There was no warning on any of this. They’re doing it and they’re farming people out all around.”

 Massachusetts state Rep. Dylan Fernandez, a Democrat who represents Martha’s Vineyard, said on Wednesday that migrants were “told they would be given housing and jobs.” He added that “Islanders were given no notice but are coming together as a community to support them.”

When announcing his proposal in December to spend money to move migrants out of the state, DeSantis threatened to send them to Martha’s Vineyard. “If you sent them to Delaware or Martha’s Vineyard or some of these places, that border would be secure the next day,” he said at the time. 

This story was originally published September 15, 2022 2:27 PM.

Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article265853866.html#storylink=cpy

(09-16-2022, 11:44 AM)StoneTheCrow Wrote: As of now is Florida split on him? The Floridians I know like him but hell, that’s a small handful. I figured people flocking to the state over the past few years was kind of an indicator.

(09-16-2022, 11:13 AM)StoneTheCrow Wrote: Laughing at how it takes this for the border problem to suddenly be in the spotlight INSTEAD of say, 50+ dead from heat exhaustion in the back of a truck not two months ago. If that makes me reprehensible…okay, sure.

(09-16-2022, 11:57 AM)Nately120 Wrote: Oh, but as I've said before the 2024 election is going to hinge on Trump either way.  He could run or he could tell people DeSantis rigged the primaries and to write TRUMP and so on and so forth.  Who the hell knows.

(09-16-2022, 12:10 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Not surprising you failed to understand the nuance given your assertion that there are areas that "support illegal immigration." Your understanding of the issue is lacking.

(09-16-2022, 12:11 PM)StoneTheCrow Wrote: I know he’s not going away. And if anyone thinks he is, brace yourself accordingly, because he’s not and this is hell

(09-16-2022, 12:10 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Not surprising you failed to understand the nuance given your assertion that there are areas that "support illegal immigration." Your understanding of the issue is lacking.

(09-16-2022, 12:18 PM)Nately120 Wrote: He's going to cause trouble until the day he dies, and then his followers are going to insist he was assassinated or he is being held hostage in the White House basement by Tom Hanks and Hillary Clinton and George Sorors, so that'll kick off more insanity.

(09-16-2022, 12:28 PM)StoneTheCrow Wrote: Jesus. Just go ahead and give me the bullet instead, thanks

(09-16-2022, 09:14 AM)StoneTheCrow Wrote: You bet right. That’s why I asked the question, wasn’t meant to be a “what about”. Did you read it that long winded sumbitch? Share Cliffs notes with the class if so.

We could certainly have robust debates about whether our catastrophic and incoherent immigration “policy” of the last few decades puts different burdens on different states. But not treating the humans involved as humans strikes me as chillingly sociopathic.

— WontonKillingHat (@Popehat) September 16, 2022

(09-16-2022, 07:48 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: This pretty well sums up my thoughts.

We could certainly have robust debates about whether our catastrophic and incoherent immigration “policy” of the last few decades puts different burdens on different states. But not treating the humans involved as humans strikes me as chillingly sociopathic.

— WontonKillingHat (@Popehat) September 16, 2022