1 of 4 | President Joe Biden at the 45th Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Gala at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, called out Republican leaders over their recent moves to ship dozens of migrants to northern states unannounced. Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/UI |
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Sept. 16 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden lambasted the Republican governors of Florida and Texas for sending migrants north to Democratic states, saying they are putting politics above the lives of vulnerable people, while California Gov. Gavin Newsom called for the Justice Department to investigate the practice.
During remarks Thursday at the 45th Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Gala in Washington, D.C., the president called on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to work with his administration on solutions to immigration issues instead of "playing politics with human beings."
"What they are doing is simply wrong. It's un-American. It's reckless," Biden said, accusing Republicans of using the migrants "as props."
He added there is a process to manage migrants, and said that while his administration is trying to do so in a humane and orderly fashion, Republican officials should not interfere with "political stunts."
"It's long overdue for Republicans to come to the table and provide a pathway for citizenship for Dreamers, those on temporary status, farm workers and essential workers," he said. "We need to modernize our laws so businesses get workers they need, and families don't have to wait decades to be brought back together.
"It's time to get it done."
The comments came a day after Florida's DeSantis, a potential presidential candidate, flew 50 migrants aboard chartered planes to Massachusetts' Martha's Vineyard unannounced. Abbott on Thursday also bused dozens of migrants, including children, to the Washington, D.C., residence of Vice President Kamala Harris.
During a press conference Thursday, DeSantis defended the move as one of the "innovative" measures he has implemented to "protect the state of Florida from the impact of Biden's border policies," while accusing the president of refusing to "lift a finger to secure that border."
He said Florida is not open to migrants and asylum seekers but will help move them to regions that are.
"Our message to them is we are not a sanctuary state and it's better to be able to go to a sanctuary jurisdiction. And, yes, we will help facilitate that transport for you to be able to go to greener pastures," he said to a cheering crowd of supporters.
Abbott -- who has since the fall bused migrants and asylum seekers to New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. -- shipped more than 100 migrants early Thursday to Harris' residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory in the nation's capital.
The Republican governor said this "busing strategy" is Texas' response to Biden's "reckless border polices," and since it was implemented in April has seen more than 10,000 migrants and asylum seekers transported north.
"Texas will continue sending migrants to sanctuary cities like Washington, D.C., until President Biden and Border Czar Harris step up and do their jobs to secure the border," he said in a statement.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre chastised the Republican governors for circumventing the existing immigration process in order to use the migrants and asylum seekers as "political pawns."
She described the moves as "shameful," "reckless" and "just plain wrong" to reporters Thursday during a press conference. Jean-Pierre added that conservative media was aware of Abbott's plan to send the migrants to D.C. while the Department of Homeland Security, the city and local organizations were left in the dark, demonstrating that the move was "just a clear, premeditated political stunt."
"The children Gov. Abbott abandoned in Martha's Vineyard, the children Gov. DeSantis abandoned as well, deserve better," she said. "And as we've done many times in response to attempts to create chaos and confusion by Republican governors, we are working to manage the consequences of these two stunts as well."
In response to the transporting of the migrants, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, "strongly urged" Justice Department prosecutors to investigate if kidnapping and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, better known as RICO, charges could be applied in this case.
Citing reports that several migrants brought to Martha's Vineyard were told that they would be taken to Boston and receive expedited work authorizations, Newsom, also a potential future presidential candidate, asked the department in a letter to open an investigation into possible criminal or civil violations over alleged fraud.
"Based on the allegations, the recruiters targeted the individuals based on their national origin, and the intent appears to have been to humiliate and dehumanize them," Newsom said, asking prosecutors to also see if the migrants' rights to equal protection under the law were violated.
When asked Thursday if the Biden administration had any legal avenue to disrupt the Republican governors' actions, Jean-Pierre said that would be a question for the Justice Department.
"What they are doing is [an] illegal stunt, is a political stunt," she said. "And it's really just disrespectful to humanity."
UPI has asked the Justice Department for comment.
