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GOP ‘stunts’ with migrants sweep up those fleeing regimes they denounce

Republican governors’ determination to send newly arrived migrants to liberal-leaning parts of the U.S. is coinciding with another trend: an uptick in migration from countries led by authoritarian dictators.  

The group of 50 migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last week had nearly all recently arrived from Venezuela. Another group of 100 dropped outside the vice president’s Washington, D.C., residence this weekend also included those fleeing the country. And buses sent to Chicago by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) largely included Venezuelans. 

The U.S. in recent weeks has seen an even greater shift in migration from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. Migrants from the three countries represented 35 percent of those who crossed the southwest border in August — nearly double what it was just last year — a pattern fueled by struggles in the trio of Latin American countries.  

Many are asylum-seekers, legally allowed to seek refuge from political and other types of persecution, and the U.S. is largely unable to return them given the lack of agreements with their home countries.  

“That’s the hypocritical thing, is that DeSantis and Abbott and other politicians are constantly beating up on places like Cuba and Venezuela because they claim the leaders are so repressive and make the countries dangerous for the people, and yet when the people try to flee, they treat them like shit. And they use them as pawns in these stunts,” Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) told The Hill.   

Migrants on the Martha’s Vineyard flight have since told lawyers they were informed they were going to Boston and would be afforded employment opportunities and immigration relief. They were also given a brochure of Massachusetts benefits for refugees — services they are not eligible for as asylum-seekers.

“This is really sadistic behavior. They’re lying. They’re deceiving these people and luring them onto planes and buses with promises of jobs and clothing and shelter,” Castro said. “And then they’re abandoning them, sometimes in remote places like Martha’s Vineyard.”   

DeSantis, Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) have been vocal about an effort they say is designed to give liberal enclaves a taste of the struggles at the southwest border. Though DeSantis has said the move is needed to protect Floridians, the flights he has paid some $12 million for have originated in Texas.  

“If there’s any hypocrisy going on here, it’s hypocrisy on the part of cities that are now upset about the surge in asylum-seekers. Well, welcome to our world. Arizona has been dealing with this for years,” said C.J. Karamargin, communications director for Ducey, who has bused 1,849 migrants to D.C., the bulk of whom have been Colombian, though 13 percent hail from Venezuela.  

A spokeswoman for Abbott, Renae Eze, similarly said “hypocritical Democrats and sanctuary city mayors need to stop complaining about a few thousand migrants,” blaming President Biden for the situation at the border.

DeSantis’s office did not respond to a request for comment. 

The governors have sought to build their brand as opponents of communism, particularly DeSantis in Florida, where Cubans and Venezuelans make up a significant part of the electorate.  

The staggering influx of migrants from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua — some 55,333 in August — puts the trio on a path to overtake migration from Mexico and northern Central America, where just more than 56,000 migrants left this month.  

“Failing communist regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba are driving a new wave of migration across the Western Hemisphere, including the recent increase in encounters at the southwest U.S. border,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus said in a Monday press release.  

Migration from Venezuela follows years of food shortages and instability under President Nicolás Maduro. In Cuba, last year’s summer protests against the government were met with violence by the country’s military and police. And in Nicaragua, President Daniel Ortega has cracked down violently on protesters and any opposition to his government, building an increasingly totalitarian dictatorship.  

“The Republicans are so quick to bash the Venezuelan government and to say, ‘But we love the Venezuelans.’ And then the minute that vulnerable populations from Venezuela arrive in our country, they then use them as political pawns. It’s really beyond reprehensible. It’s a really repugnant motivation,” Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) told The Hill.  

She also pushed back against the argument that Republican governors are simply doing what the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) already do.  

“NGOs and communities have long bused migrants to other destinations. They’ve used Greyhound buses, but normally it’s to get them to other NGOs or to their sponsors in other communities,” Escobar said.  

“What is different with DeSantis and with Abbott and Ducey is they are using people as political pawns in this culture war. DeSantis has sunk to a new low by lying to people, and I guess securing a private jet to send them to Martha’s Vineyard. But the Republicans always want to have it both ways. While they want to condemn Venezuela and say they support Venezuelans, the minute Venezuelans need help, they debase themselves in the way that they treat them.”  

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) criticized DeSantis while urging Biden to offer more protections for those fleeing oppressive governments.  

“These are people — human beings yearning to breathe free — fleeing repression and hopelessness. But instead of welcoming these refugees and providing even the most basic care, Gov. DeSantis decided to spend millions of taxpayer dollars in transportation costs, just to rile up his right-wing supporters and get more hits on Fox News,” he said in a statement last week.  

“[Biden] should welcome these refugees and those from Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba that have been bussed to other states, and allow them to seek temporary protections in the United States. This was the right thing to do for Ukrainians who could not return home, and it is the right thing to do now.”  

Many Republicans who have campaigned on confronting such governments did not find fault with DeSantis’s actions.  

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a vocal critic of Maduro as well as the Communist Party of Cuba, downplayed the number of migrants involved in the Massachusetts flight, though at least 13,000 migrants have been moved in the overall effort.  

“What was flown to Martha’s Vineyard is but a small, like minuscule, fraction of the problem being faced and the burden being carried by just a handful of states,” he said. “A handful of border states and a handful of communities in those states are taking on 90 percent of the burden.”  

“I always sympathize with people that are coming to this country,” Rubio added. “They’re desperate. Because of communism, because of poverty, because of violence. Of course. But the truth of the matter is every country in the world has to have immigration laws.”  

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said the solution is to welcome “legal migration.”   

So far, none of the migrants who have publicly divulged their status are undocumented. A majority, if not all, are asylum-seekers who must present themselves on U.S. soil and have been processed by U.S. border officials and allowed to remain in the country until their cases are resolved by immigration court.

“Different governors are doing things to try to get people to focus on the problem that’s happening in their states as a result of this,” Scott said.  

“Secure the border and have an immigration policy that works — we got to have an immigration policy that people [who] want to live our dream can come here.”  

Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.), whose parents fled to the U.S. from Cuba and who interviewed a number of communist dictators during her career as a journalist, likewise touted legislation as the solution.   

“You know how we solve this? I presented an immigration reform law. Do you know about it? It’s called the Dignity Act. Why don’t we have [Speaker] Nancy Pelosi bring it to the floor?” she asked.   

While bipartisan immigration reform packages were approved by the Senate in 2006 and 2013, the then-Republican-led House both times refused to take them up for a vote.  

It’s a detail that Escobar said makes Republicans’ claims around the need for immigration reform insincere.  

“The United States, mostly because of Republicans, has approached immigration as a border-only issue. Republicans have refused to pass immigration reform. They’ve refused to update or modernize our laws. They’ve insisted on only dealing with it as a border issue. This is the consequence of dealing with immigration as a border issue,” she said, noting that has corresponded with limiting some legal pathways.   

“Of course we’re going to see an increase in irregular migration. And yet Republicans want to point at the border and call it ‘Biden’s border crisis’ when this is a crisis by design.”  

According to several reports, the migrants have been led astray at every turn, with the Martha’s Vineyard group also told to report their new addresses to an agency that processes visas, not asylum claims.  

Some migrants were also assigned addresses of various homeless shelters to list as their own.  

Both those clerical errors would require migrants to report to immigration authorities in random destinations and would likely speed a process to deport them for not showing up for their asylum court dates.  

Rubio took aim at DHS officials, some of whom are likely behind the instructions to report to homeless shelters.  

“Today I will be demanding answers from @DHSgov about reports from Martha’s Vineyard that federal agents assigned random homeless shelters across the country as the mailing addresses of illegal migrants, even after the migrants told them they had no address in the U.S.,” Rubio wrote on Twitter.

Castro said GOP leaders need to do more to help than just bashing leftist leaders.  

“If you’re going to treat the people like that when they try to flee these very desperate, repressive situations, then you should just shut your mouth and stop complaining about Maduro if you’re not going to do anything to help the people that are trying to flee Venezuela,” he said. 

Rafael Bernal contributed. 

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Fetterman looks to quell concerns over health

Democratic Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman is stepping up his public appearances after weeks of heavy scrutiny over his health — including from Republican opponent Mehmet Oz.  

Over the weekend, Fetterman drew a crowd of 1,000 at a Scranton rally and is slated to hold another rally in Philadelphia this weekend. The campaign said they saw a crowd of 3,000 attend a rally with Fetterman and Planned Parenthood earlier this month in Philadelphia, the same day as the home opener for the Philadelphia Eagles, no less.  

“In eastern Pennsylvania, [that’s] a pretty big flex,” said one Democratic operative with ties to the race.  

The change in pace for the Fetterman campaign comes as Oz and Republicans have sought to portray the lieutenant governor as weak and absent from the campaign trail following a stroke he suffered in May. 

“We’re really seeing something really special play out here in Pennsylvania,” said Fetterman campaign spokesperson Joe Calvello. “Now we’re back out there and I think people are hungry.” 

Oz’s allies, on the other hand, argue that Fetterman’s rallies aren’t necessarily a sign of transparency.  

“Yes, Fetterman has held some rallies, but he still doesn’t take any questions,” said one Republican strategist, who noted that Oz has done local and national interviews. Fetterman has recently given interviews to The New York Times, Politico and MSNBC.  

Fetterman also recently agreed to an Oct. 25 televised debate in Harrisburg after weeks of pressure from the Oz campaign.  

The lieutenant governor also faced pressure from the press, with The Washington Post and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette arguing he should commit to debating Oz for the sake of transparency for the voters.   

But the Fetterman campaign has maintained that debating was never off the table for them, saying that the timing was just a matter of dealing with the lingering effects of the stroke, including ones related to auditory processing.  

Yet the back-and-forth over the televised forum did not end with Fetterman agreeing to the debate.

Shortly after Fetterman announced he was attending the forum, the Oz campaign rolled out a statement demanding that the Fetterman campaign agree to three conditions: that the moderator explain that Fetterman is using a closed-captioning system, that questions in practice sessions do not resemble the questions in the live debate and that the debate would be extended from 60 minutes to 90 minutes.  

Fetterman’s campaign subsequently rolled out a statement accusing  Oz of “trying to move the goalposts, because this is his only play.” 

Democrats also argue that the haggling over the debates will ultimately amount to much ado about nothing.  

“Debate stuff and debate conversations are a lot [heavier weighted] amongst, for lack of a better word, the media class,” the Democratic operative said. “The reality is they don’t have the same weight amongst actual voters.”  

Oz’s campaign has continued to pressure Fetterman to do more debates and extend the length of the Oct. 25 debate, arguing that if he doesn’t it is “yet another pathetic attempt by Fetterman to avoid giving Pennsylvanians the full and robust debate they are owed.” 

“For months John Fetterman lied and dragged his feet on debating Dr. Oz and with absentee ballots already out, voters still won’t see a debate until the end of October,” said Rachel Tripp, a senior communications adviser to Oz’s campaign. “John Fetterman needs to agree to more debates so more voters can take part and they need to be extended to 90 minutes to accommodate for closed captioning concessions that have been made.”

Democrats, on the other hand, have brushed off Oz’s demands.  

“Some people can’t take yes for an answer,” said T.J. Rooney, the former chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. “Oz needs to get over it. He wanted to debate and now he’s got a debate. So, next: How do you feel about abortion?”  

Meanwhile, Fetterman has been leaning into more face time with voters.  

“I’m not going to suggest to you that there wasn’t a time when people talked about the state of his health, but that time seems to be behind us now because of his ever-increasing presence on the trail,” Rooney said.  

Many of those visits to the trail have led Fetterman to destinations where Democrats aren’t necessarily popular.  

On Tuesday, Fetterman visited Indiana County, which former President Trump won by 68 percent in 2020. While Democrats say they are under no illusion that Fetterman could sweep the “ruby red” county, they say votes in the state’s conservative stronghold are still needed to reach the finish line in November.  

“There’s a really interesting dynamic. If you are a Trump-Mastriano voter, how in God’s name do you vote for Mehmet Oz?” Rooney said. “I think that the fact that he spends time in areas where lots of Democrats don’t spend lots of time makes it that much easier for him.”  

But Fetterman’s campaign is also looking to target the suburbs of Philadelphia, which could also hold sway come November. Fetterman’s rally with Planned Parenthood in the city earlier this month was a method of using abortion to galvanize the Democratic base while attracting the much-talked-about suburban voting contingent.  

“Especially in the collar counties around Philadelphia, Democrats have been doing better and better, in particular thanks to suburban women,” said one national Democratic strategist.  

Fetterman’s campaign has particularly homed in on pressuring Oz to say whether he supports Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) proposed nationwide ban on abortion. When asked about the legislation at an event in Philadelphia on Monday, Oz said he has not seen Graham’s proposal and that he supports state control over abortion rights.  

Republicans argue that while abortion may be a hot-button issue, it’s issues like inflation and crime that will ultimately decide the election.  

In fact, Oz has recently zeroed in on crime. On Monday, Oz’s campaign held a “Safer Streets Community Discussion” in Philadelphia, in which he addressed his plan to advocate for the state’s Black community.  

“I think focusing on the economy, inflation and crime will continue for the next 49 days to be the top issues for Republicans and also for voters as they go to the ballot box on Nov. 8,” the national Republican strategist said.

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DeSantis hits back at migrant lawsuit, calls it 'political theater'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) office is pushing back against a class-action lawsuit filed by a group of Venezuelan migrants the state flew to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., calling it an act of “political theater.”

“It is opportunistic that activists would use illegal immigrants for political theater,” DeSantis Communications Director Taryn Feske said in a statement Tuesday.

“If these activists spent even a fraction of this time and effort at the border, perhaps some accountability would be brought to the Biden Administration’s reckless border policies that entice illegal immigrants to make dangerous and often lethal journeys through Central America and put their lives in the hands of cartels and Coyotes,” Feske continued.

Three unnamed migrants and immigration activists filed a class-action suit against DeSantis and the state’s transportation secretary earlier Tuesday, alleging they misled the migrants into boarding the flights through false promises.

The suit alleges DeSantis violated their Fourth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights as well as the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

When reached for comment on the suit, DeSantis’s office provided a copy of consent forms they say the migrants signed before boarding.

“I agree to hold the benefactor or its designated representatives harmless of all liability arising out of or in any way relating to any injuries and damages that may occur during the agreed transport to locations outside of Texas until the final destination of Massachusetts,” the form states.

The relocations have sparked fury among Democrats, who argue DeSantis and two other GOP governors who have also transported migrants across state lines are using them as political pawns.

The GOP governors, who also include Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, argue the relocations provide relief to overwhelmed border communities that received an influx of migrants because of Democrats’ immigration policies.

Feske in the statement stressed the relocations were done on a “voluntary basis.”

“The immigrants were homeless, hungry, and abandoned – and these activists didn’t care about them then,” said Feske. “Florida’s program gave them a fresh start in a sanctuary state and these individuals opted to take advantage of chartered flights to Massachusetts. It was disappointing that Martha’s Vineyard called in the Massachusetts National Guard to bus them away from the island within 48 hours.”

The suit provides the most detailed narrative yet about how the migrants came to board the flight.

The plaintiffs allege the migrants were located at shelters in Texas, where individuals approached them and falsely portrayed themselves as good Samaritans.

The suit states the individuals promised benefits such as housing and financial assistance, luring the migrants to eventually board the flights. 

Some of the migrants say they were told they were being sent to Washington, D.C., or Boston, only to be told while en route that they were instead heading to Martha’s Vineyard.

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Biden clarifies COVID comments: Pandemic 'basically is not where it was'

NEW YORK — President Biden on Tuesday sought to clarify his comments from days earlier that the coronavirus pandemic “is over,” telling guests at a fundraiser that the COVID-19 situation is not as bad as it was.

Biden attended a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in New York City ahead of his speech Wednesday to the United Nations General Assembly. At one point, speaking about efforts on the pandemic, Biden referenced his comments to Scott Pelley of CBS last week in which he said the pandemic was “over.”

Biden acknowledged he was “criticized” for the remarks, adding, “But it basically is not where it was.”

The president also urged those in attendance to get their booster shots if they have not already.

Biden drew heat from public health experts and some lawmakers for his remarks to “60 Minutes” at the Detroit Auto Show last week, which was the first time the event was able to be held at full capacity since the onset of the pandemic.

“The pandemic is over,” he told the program. “We still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lotta work on it. It’s — but the pandemic is over. if you notice, no one’s wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it’s changing. And I think this is a perfect example of it.”

The United States is still recording an average of more than 400 deaths per day from COVID-19, according to New York Times data, and more than 1 million Americans have died from the virus since the pandemic began in early 2020.

Highly contagious variants have spread throughout the globe, making it nearly impossible to fully eradicate COVID-19.

As a result, the Biden administration has focused its messaging on the importance of getting vaccinated and receiving booster shots to increase immunity, as well as the wide availability of antiviral pills and other forms of treatment for those who contract the virus.

Tuesday’s fundraiser featured roughly 100 guests and raised nearly $2 million for the Democratic National Committee. Attendees included New York Mayor Eric Adams and actor Robert De Niro. 

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Graham throws another wrench into GOP’s abortion messaging

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) created new headaches for Republicans on Tuesday with his claim that abortion is “not a states’ rights issue,” keeping the debate in the headlines and undercutting the party’s messaging heading into November’s midterms.  

Graham, speaking to “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday morning, acknowledged his bill that would ban abortions after 15 weeks goes against typical GOP thinking on the issue.  

“This is not a states’ rights issue. This is a human right issue,” Graham said. “So, no matter what California or Maryland will do … I am going to advocate a national minimum standard.” 

But the South Carolina Republican’s effort comes at a perilous time for the Senate GOP, which is attempting to retake control of the chamber after two years in the minority and is dealing with a barrage of ads on the issue from Democrats, who see it as a political winner.  

According to an analysis by The Associated Press, Democrats have spent roughly $124 million on ads centered on abortion — more than twice what the party has invested in any other issue.  

In addition, Democrats have spent 20 times what they did on the subject when they retook the House in 2018.   

Senate Republicans who spoke to The Hill on Tuesday were universally supportive of leaving abortion to states, with many quick to note that the status quo created by the Supreme Court with the Dobbs decision in June is highly unlikely to change anytime soon at the national level. 

“It’s not, obviously, an issue right now that — as you look at the whole array of issues — that this campaign is going to be about,” said Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican, noting that the GOP is focused on inflation, energy, immigration and crime. “But I think it’s an issue, one way or another, you’re going to respond to because Democrats are certainly going to make it an issue.  

“If you have the right response and a response that kind of fits the majority of where your constituents are, you can at least turn it into an even fight,” Thune added.  

The contrasts within the GOP over abortion were highlighted on Tuesday by the presence of Joe O’Dea, the party’s Senate nominee in Colorado, at the Senate Republicans’ weekly luncheon at the Capitol. O’Dea, who is looking to unseat Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), was among the most outspoken critics of Graham’s national abortion ban last week. A pro-abortion rights Republican, O’Dea supports allowing abortions up to five months. 

Most Republicans, however, just want to talk about anything else with a month and a half until the elections. Graham’s announcement last week was met with particular frustration on the GOP side in part because it was released on the same day as a report showing that inflation continued going up in August. 

“[The abortion issue is] as tough as any candidate wants to make it. The reality is voters who remain undecided at this point are not voting on abortion. They’re voting on the economy, crime, border,” one GOP strategist told The Hill.  

“Anybody who has very strong feelings about abortion is not an undecided voter. It’s very important for Republicans to talk to the voters who are still gettable at this point, and those are the people who are struggling to buy their groceries and hoping for change.”  

“Abortion is Democrats’ favorite subject and you can expect to hear little else from them,” the operative added.  

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), the chairman of the Senate GOP campaign arm, dismissed the idea that Graham has caused a messaging problem for Republicans. 

“I don’t think Republicans are struggling. I think Democrats are radical. … This country is not where Democrats are,” Scott told reporters. “Every state’s got a different law. I think 15 weeks is reasonable. … We have 50 different Republican senators up here. They all take different positions.”   

But Democrats are smelling blood in the water on the topic. According to an NBC News poll released on Sunday, Democrats hold a 22-point advantage with voters on which party better handles the abortion issue, while Republicans hold substantial leads on the economy, crime and border security. Sixty-one percent of respondents disapproved of the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, compared to only 37 percent who backed it.  

“Any proposal of a ban … is just enraging to most Democrats, most independents and a whole lot of Republicans who believe folks should have the autonomy to make their own reproductive decisions,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) told The Hill.  

He speculated that if Graham’s bill came up for a vote, less than half of the Senate GOP would support it.

Graham’s comments also are a stark departure from just over a month ago, when he said that “states should decide the issue of abortion” during a Sunday show appearance.  

More than a dozen GOP senators have already signaled their opposition to his bill, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who said last week “most of the members of my conference prefer that this be dealt with at the state level.” 

Graham on Tuesday said McConnell was wrong to avoid abortion, saying he refused to stand by as some states adopted permissive abortion laws.  

“Let’s talk about rampant crime. Let’s talk about out-of-control inflation. Let’s talk about failing foreign policy and withdrawal from Afghanistan,” he said. “But when you’re on the stump, people need to know who you are and where you are.” 

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Special master tells Trump team: 'You can’t have your cake and eat it'

The judge assigned to review the documents seized from Mar-a-Lago pushed back against attorneys for Donald Trump on Tuesday as they dance around whether the former president ever declassified the documents in his home.

Trump’s attorneys rebuffed a request from Judge Raymond Dearie, one of Trump’s candidates chosen to serve as the special master in the case, in a Monday filing that sought more details about the former president’s claims around declassification. 

In a Tuesday conference, Dearie appeared unsatisfied with the response, indicating that further explanation would be necessary only if criminal charges were filed.

He said if Trump’s lawyers will not actually assert that the records have been declassified and the Justice Department instead makes an acceptable case that they remain classified, then “as far as I’m concerned, that’s the end of it.”

James Trusty, a lawyer for Trump, said they were “not in a position” to say whether they were classified without first reviewing the documents, to which Dearie responded, “You did bring a lawsuit.”

Trump’s legal team has failed to assert in court that Trump declassified the documents even as it seeks to cast doubt on whether the documents are still classified.

“You can’t have your cake and eat it,” Dearie said.

Dearie also seemed to cast doubt on whether Trump’s legal team would be able to review all the classified documents, noting that some of the records are restricted to those with a need to know.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) noted that some of its own investigators would not have sufficient clearances to review the documents, prompting Trusty to say it was “astounding” that the government would argue Trump’s legal team wouldn’t have a need to know. 

The exchanges took place in the first conference between Dearie and both parties following a ruling from a Florida judge granting Trump’s request for a special master. The decision also blocks DOJ from accessing the documents, including the classified material, until Dearie’s review is completed as late as Nov. 30. 

The Justice Department has appealed that decision, asking the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to grant a request that would allow them to begin reviewing just the 100 classified records taken during their Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago. 

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Migrants flown to Martha's Vineyard file class-action suit against DeSantis

The group of Venezuelan migrants flown from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., last week by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) filed a class-action suit against the governor and the state’s transportation secretary on Tuesday.

The suit provides a detailed account of how the migrants came to board the two planes allegedly under false pretenses, arguing the relocations violated their Fourth and 14th Amendment rights and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“These immigrants, who are pursuing the proper channels for lawful immigration status in the United States, experienced cruelty akin to what they fled in their home country,” the suit alleges.

“Defendants manipulated them, stripped them of their dignity, deprived them of their liberty, bodily autonomy, due process and equal protection under law, and impermissibly interfered with the Federal Government’s exclusive control over immigration in furtherance of an unlawful goal and a personal political agenda,” it continues.

The suit, filed in a federal trial court in Massachusetts, asks a judge to declare DeSantis’s relocations illegal under the Constitution as well as federal and state laws. It also asks the judge to prevent Florida from inducing immigrants to travel across state laws by fraud and misrepresentation.

The Hill has reached out to DeSantis’s office and the Florida Department of Transportation for comment.

Developing

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White House releases state-by-state student debt forgiveness estimates

The White House on Tuesday released a state-by-state breakdown of borrowers impacted by President Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan, which could eliminate student debt entirely for 20 million borrowers. 

About 90 percent of the expected relief will go to Americans earning less than $75,000 per year, according to a White House fact sheet. The Biden administration in August rolled out plans to forgive up to $10,000 for federal borrowers earning less than $125,000, and up to $20,000 for borrowers who meet the income criteria and received a Pell Grant during college.  

Biden’s plan could affect more than 40 million total borrowers in all 50 states if all eligible applicants apply for relief beginning online in early October. The Education Department advises applying prior to November 15 for relief to kick in before restarting federal loan repayments in January.  

States with relatively large populations, like California and Texas, have the most borrowers who meet the criteria for forgiveness. More than 3.5 million student debt holders in California are eligible for up to $10,000 each in loan forgiveness – more than 2.3 million received Pell Grants. 

In Texas, more than 3.3 million borrowers could see up to $10,000 removed from their balances, while slightly more than 2.3 million debt former Pell Grant recipients are eligible for up to $20,000.  

Wyoming has the fewest borrowers eligible for student debt forgiveness, where more than 31,000 out of about 50,000 debt holders could receive up to $20,000.  

Mississippi has the highest percentage of Pell Grant recipients set to benefit among its borrowers at 76 percent — 316,400 out of 417,200. Meanwhile, approximately 74 percent of borrowers in New Mexico could see up to $20,000 of their loans eliminated. 

Arkansas, Utah, and Idaho round out the top five states with the highest percentage of their eligible borrowers potentially seeing up to $20,000 wiped off their student debt balances. 

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The administration said its increased forgiveness for Pell Grant recipients could work toward narrowing the racial wealth gap as nearly 71% of Black and 65 percent of Latino undergraduate borrowers are Pell Grant recipients. 

Pell Grants, which have a maximum allowance of $6,895 per academic year, are typically awarded to undergraduate students in serious financial need. The number increased in March for the current academic year. 

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said on social media Tuesday said that the $400 Pell Grant increase “reduces the college cost by 70 percent” for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities.  

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McConnell applauds shipping migrants to blue states as 'a good idea'

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday applauded Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) latest move of shipping migrants to an area near President Biden’s beach house in Rehoboth, Del., and other blue states in the Northeast as “a good idea.” 

McConnell and other Senate Republicans are lining up behind DeSantis’s strategy of sending migrants —mostly from Venezuela — to Biden’s home state and Martha’s Vineyard, the upscale island off the coast of Massachusetts where former President Obama owns a $12 million vacation house.  

They are also supporting Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) decision to send migrants to Vice President Harris’s official residence in Washington, D.C., and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s record of sending nearly 2,000 migrants to the nation’s capital.  

“There’s been a good deal of talk about what some of the governors have done to transport illegal immigrants up to other parts of the country. I personally thought it was a good idea,” McConnell said.  

The latest development came Tuesday, when the White House said it was aware of reports that DeSantis had sent a flight of migrants to an airport 20 miles from Biden’s vacation house in Delaware.  

DeSantis said at a news conference that he couldn’t confirm the reports.  

McConnell defended DeSantis and the other GOP governors by arguing that Republican-governed border states still have to deal with many more migrants who have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border on a daily basis than Democratic states such as New York, Massachusetts and Illinois.  

“If you added up all of the illegals who have been taken to Chicago or Washington or Martha’s Vineyard, it would be fewer than people down in Texas have to deal with on a daily basis,” he said.  

He added that it’s pretty clear that in the upcoming midterm elections, voters are focused on inflation, rising crime around the country and “the open borders.”  

McConnell took a shot at Harris for claiming in a recent interview that the southern border is secure.  

“When the vice president says the border is secure, it’s absurdly incorrect. And I think these are the kinds of things the American people would look to this administration for some solutions on and so far they are lacking,” he said.  

McConnell defended the bussing and flying of migrants to liberal enclaves around the country earlier Tuesday when he delivered his opening remarks on the Senate floor.  

He said the governors of Texas and Arizona are now giving “some Democrat-run states and cities just a tiny, tiny taste of what border communities have been enduring, literally, for years.”  

Source: TEST FEED1

Biden on reports DeSantis sending migrants to Delaware: 'He should come visit'

President Biden on Tuesday responded to reports that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) was possibly sending migrants from Texas to Delaware by quipping that the governor ought to stop by himself.

“He should come visit. We have a beautiful shoreline,” Biden told reporters.

The White House said earlier on Tuesday that the administration is coordinating with state officials and local service providers in Delaware to ensure they are prepared to welcome migrant families upon their arrival.

Biden noted differences between his and the previous administration’s strategy along the southern border in defending his policies. 

“There are fewer and fewer immigrants coming from Central America and from Mexico. It’s a totally different circumstance. What’s on my watch now is Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, and the ability to send them back to those states is not rational,” Biden said when asked about the influx of migrants.

The president added that his administration is working with Mexico and other countries to see if they can stop the flow.

The number of arrests along the southwestern border in the past year recently hit 2 million, a new record, heating up the debate about the border.

In the president’s home state of Delaware, officials are bracing for the arrival of migrants after reports noted that the same type of plane DeSantis used to fly migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., last week was also scheduled to depart from Texas on Tuesday. The flight appears to be delayed so far, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) have been flying and bussing migrants to sanctuary jurisdictions in cities run by Democrats. Last week, Abbott sent migrants to the doorstep of Vice President Harris’s home in Washington, D.C.

Updated at 1:57 p.m.

Source: TEST FEED1