A plane reportedly full of asylum seekers headed from Texas to Delaware has so far not materialized, even as officials worried it would be the last to be surprised by Florida’s highly controversial plan to fly undeclared immigrants in liberal jurisdictions. Delaware agencies and the White House spent the day preparing for a surprise drop-off near President Biden’s beach house in Rehoboth Beach. The plane, according to flight tracking services, only made it as far as New Jersey. Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis said at an event on Tuesday that he “cannot confirm” the Delaware flight, although he criticized President Biden, who he said had “created a crisis” at the border. However, government agencies and community groups were ready for humanitarian assistance. A group of 48 mostly Venezuelan immigrants that the state of Florida airlifted to Martha’s Vineyard last week sued Gov. Ron DeSantis over the “fraudulent and discriminatory scheme.” Local officials as well as California’s governor have called for a criminal investigation of Florida’s governor into the flights, which are said to be based on false claims of aid to entice migrants to board them. Gov. DeSantis and his aides and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have defended sending immigrants to Democratic-led states and cities in protest of what they call the president’s “open borders” policy.

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DeSantis team lured hungry immigrants with $10 McDonald’s gift cards, lawsuit says

Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis’ team lured immigrants with $10 McDonald’s gift certificates to win their trust as part of a “scheme” to fly them to Martha’s Vineyard from Texas, according to a new federal lawsuit. The lawsuit has been filed by Attorneys for Civil Rights, Boston, on behalf of a class of affected immigrants, including those stranded on Martha’s Vineyard, and Alianza Americas, an immigrant-led network of immigrant advocacy organizations. The Independent’s Sravasti Dasgupta reports.

Ron DeSantis’ team lured immigrants with $10 McDonald’s gift cards, lawsuit claims

Strangers working with Florida governor ‘trolled streets outside an immigrant shelter’ Shweta Sharma21 September 2022 09:01 1663747200

Fact check: Ron DeSantis distorts immigration data as he defends flights

How historic is today’s border situation? Is Joe Biden creating an “open border” to blame for these trends? And were the immigrants on the controversial Florida-sponsored Martha’s Vineyard flight to the US illegal? Find out in our fact checker.

Fact check: Ron DeSantis distorts immigration data as he defends flights

Texas, Florida governors exaggerate Biden’s role in border situation — and ignore ways he resembles Trump Josh Marcus21 September 2022 09:00 1663743584

Biden responds to rumored migrant exodus in Delaware with a joke

President Joe Biden responded to reports that Florida Governor Ron DeSandis organized another flight to send migrants to the Northeast, this time sending a plane to Delaware near the US president’s beach home. In unscripted remarks to reporters after his campaign finance speech, Mr. Biden excoriated the Republican governor for the latest political stunt. “He should visit, we have a beautiful coastline,” Biden told reporters on Tuesday when asked to respond to Mr. DeSantis’ latest gambit.

Biden mocks De Sandys over reported migrant flight to Delaware

White House and Delaware agencies prepare for possible flight arrival near president’s home Josh Marcus21 September 2022 07:59 1663740944

The reported flight of migrants from Delaware has officials scrambling

The White House is coordinating with state officials and aid groups preparing for the possible arrival of a planeload of migrants sent from Texas to the Delaware coast near President Joe Biden’s beach home. The flight, set to arrive Tuesday afternoon, could mark the second flight in a week organized by Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis’ administration to move asylum seekers in San Antonio to northeastern cities. “We are coordinating closely with state officials and local service providers who are ready to welcome these families in an orderly manner as they pursue their asylum claims,” ​​White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre told reporters.

White House prepares for DeSantis immigrant flights to Delaware

Aid groups are “ready to host these families in an orderly manner as they pursue their asylum claims,” ​​according to spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre. Josh Marcus21 September 2022 07:15 1663738244

The GOP’s tough tactics on immigrants are refocusing the midterm debate

They have delivered migrants by plane and bus to Washington, D.C., New York City — and even Martha’s Vineyard. And the Republican governors of Florida and Texas may be just getting started. Governors. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas insist such dramatic steps are needed to highlight a real crisis at the US-Mexico border, where thousands of migrants enter the country illegally every day. But weeks away from their own competitive re-elections, friends and foes alike acknowledged that such hard-line tactics have effectively reoriented November’s midterm elections — at least temporarily — away from abortion rights and toward an issue more favorable to Republicans. A defiant DeSantis on Tuesday blasted the Biden administration’s inaction on the southern border and celebrated his own policies that make illegal immigration a “big issue” ahead of the midterm elections.

The GOP’s tough tactics on immigrants are refocusing the midterm debate

Republican governors of Florida and Texas delivered migrants by plane and bus to Washington Josh Marcus21 September 2022 06:30 1663735544

Lawyers for a group of immigrants who boarded unannounced flights to Martha’s Vineyard from San Antonio, Texas, have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis, who allegedly ran a “fraudulent and discriminatory scheme” to transport a group of 50 people , including families with young children, as part of a political stunt. The lawsuit alleges the governor and members of his administration targeted immigrants recently released from shelters with false promises of job opportunities, education and financial aid before they landed on the island with only volunteer support from local groups and emergency assistance from state agencies. Lawyers claim the migrants were exploited for “political purposes” after arriving on the island last week. Learn all the details about the bombshell lawsuit.

Immigrants and civil rights groups are filing a federal lawsuit against the DeSantis administration

Class-action lawsuit details ‘fraudulent and discriminatory scheme’ to move immigrants out of Texas Josh Marcus21 September 2022 05:45 1663732844

Because both parties have failed to create a stable immigration system

Every few months, the right declares that there is a new “crisis” on the US-Mexico border. In fact, both parties have created an unstable US immigration system through decades of inaction. Unfortunately, this piece from last summer is still relevant as many of the false claims and reckless solutions regarding immigration are once again making the rounds of political discourse.

What Trump and Biden are both doing wrong about the immigration “crisis” at the border

As a journalist with experience reporting real immigration stories, I recognize the problems that both Republicans and Democrats refuse to see Josh Marcus21 September 2022 05:00 1663730144

How a ‘false brochure’ helped lure migrants on Martha’s Vineyard flights

Before boarding planes bound for Martha’s Vineyard, a group of about 50 immigrants in San Antonio, Texas, received a three-fold brochure titled “Massachusetts Refugee Benefits.” The cover featured a photo of a Massachusetts Department of Transportation highway sign reading “Massachusetts Welcomes You” over an illustration of the state. On the back, in English and Spanish, was the name and phone number and website of the Massachusetts Office of Refugees and Immigrants, a state agency that assists resettlement agencies and works with community groups to help newly arrived refugees. But the agency had nothing to do with the flyer. The pamphlet was mocked to look like a government document, falsely suggesting that the group of mostly Venezuelan asylum seekers in the US would be eligible for cash assistance, housing, food, job training, job interviews and other benefits. Alex Woodward has the details.

Immigrants were given brochures with false promises of help. Who made them?

People seeking asylum in the U.S. were given official-looking documents before boarding flights to Massachusetts booked by Gov. Ron DeSandis, but the agency designated to them was not. Lawyers are demanding answers, reports Alex Woodward Josh Marcus21 September 2022 04:15 1663727144

Were Ron DeSantis’ immigrant flights illegal?

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been subpoenaed by the Justice Department to investigate whether Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis’ controversial decision to send two flights of migrants north would amount to “kidnapping.” “I strongly urge the US Department of Justice (US DOJ) to initiate an investigation into possible criminal or civil violations of federal law based on this alleged fraudulent scheme,” Governor Newsom wrote in a Sept. 15 letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland . Johanna Chisholm has the story.

DeSantis could be charged with kidnapping after transporting immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is asking the Justice Department to “investigate whether the alleged fraudulent solicitation would support kidnapping charges under…