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. “It’s going to be a big issue in the election, I can tell you that,” DeSantis said. “He’s already made more of an impact than anyone thought he could have. But we will continue to have a bigger impact.” Indeed, DeSantis and Abbott are pushing forward with — and even expanding — controversial campaigns to send thousands of Texas immigrants to Democratic-led states and cities. Beyond shifting the national debate, their divisive moves could also help boost their national brands — and help legitimize their controversial policies — as they consider 2024 presidential bids. “I personally thought it was a good idea,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday. The governors’ rhetoric is reminiscent of former President Donald Trump’s dire warnings before the 2018 midterm elections that a migrant caravan threatened the southern border. Trump’s GOP lost 40 House seats and gained two Senate seats that year. Democrats from Connecticut to California have built momentum in recent weeks campaigning for the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade — and the GOP’s subsequent push to ban abortions in dozens of states. Republicans, meanwhile, want to make the midterms about President Joe Biden and concerns about the economy, crime and immigration. This week, at least, immigration is leading the national conversation. “What they’re doing is highlighting the importance and relevance of the immigration issue, which is important to Republican voters and can help increase turnout,” said veteran Republican pollster Neil Newhouse. “For the voters we’re appealing to, for the most part, the benefits outweigh the risks by a significant margin.” But there are real risks, particularly for DeSantis, who has taken credit for two chartered planes over the weekend that carried about 50 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, a small, wealthy island off Massachusetts. The immigrants were told they were going to Boston. A Texas sheriff on Monday launched an investigation into DeSantis’ flights, though the law enforcement official, a Democrat, did not say what laws may have been broken when 48 Venezuelans were put on private planes from San Antonio, the first stop for many migrants. where I cross the border. A lawsuit was filed Tuesday against DeSantis and his transportation secretary on behalf of several of the immigrants who flew to Martha’s Vineyard, alleging the two politicians engaged in a “fraudulent and discriminatory scheme” to relocate them. DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat who represents San Antonio, called on the Justice Department to investigate the flights as well. “These guys are immature, sadistic Trump impersonators. That’s it,” Castro said of Abbott and DeSantis. “This is sadistic behavior. Whatever political point they were trying to make has been made a long time ago.” DeSantis, who has stepped up travel on behalf of GOP candidates in the midterm elections, vowed to spend “every penny” of $12 million earmarked by the state Legislature for such “relocation programs.” On Tuesday, local officials in a Delaware community near Biden’s vacation home were preparing to receive another of DeSandi’s planes full of immigrants from Texas, though the Florida governor declined to confirm the development. Despite heavy criticism and potential legal liabilities, there is little evidence of widespread political backlash in any state. Democratic supporters in Florida held news conferences in recent days condemning the governors, while others compared DeSantis to the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Spanish radio. But the number of Venezuelan voters in the state remains relatively small. Much of the community that exists has formed a coalition with Cubans, a critical bloc in Florida that increasingly votes Republican. “Governors Abbott and DeSandis are fed up with it and decided to do something to get people to notice,” said Ernesto Ackerman, a Republican who leads the Independent American Citizens of Venezuela. “This is a country of laws, not crooks and bums.” In Texas, Abbott has spent the past two years pushing a series of defiant immigration measures that have raised his national profile and kept critics on his right at bay. The two-term governor turned a former prison near the southern Texas border into an immigration detention center, gave the National Guard emergency arrest powers and blocked some of America’s busiest ports for a week, imposing additional inspections on 18-wheelers crossing into the U.S. The Abbott administration has been ferrying immigrants to Washington, Chicago and New York for months. The bus campaign includes two busloads of people dropped off outside Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence last weekend. Longtime Abbott adviser Dave Carney said Texas will expand its operation this week to include new drop-off locations in other states. “We’ve been focused on this for two years. It has nothing to do with politics. Communities are screaming bloody murder,” Carney said, referring to border towns that have been flooded by migrants who have been apprehended at the border and then released. Republicans see the border crisis as a failure of the Biden administration. The federal government this week reported that authorities stopped immigrants 2.15 million times from October to August, the first time the measure has ever topped 2 million and a 39 percent increase from the same period last year. The border crossings have been fueled in part by repeat crossings because there are no legal consequences for arrest under a pandemic-era rule that denies the right to seek asylum. Even so, the numbers are extremely high. While Abbott and DeSantis have also touted their achievements on issues related to the economy, neither has taken steps to moderate their immigration policies as the November election approaches. Abbott is running against former Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who bested Abbott in a contest that represents the toughest challenge of the governor’s political career. Immigration remains a critical issue for Democrats who have long believed Texas’ booming cities and changing demographics would eventually turn America’s biggest red state blue. But in the overwhelmingly Hispanic border counties, Republicans are making an aggressive play for three congressional seats this fall after Trump made significant gains in the region in 2020. The same was true in South Florida, where Trump’s GOP performed better than expected in the last election. DeSantis is running against former Rep. Charlie Crist, whose campaign has charged in recent days that the governor “shot himself in the foot” by sending immigrants from Texas to Massachusetts. The move sparked a fundraising wave for Crist that topped $1 million in 48 hours, according to spokeswoman Samantha Ramirez. Republican candidates on the November ballot don’t seem worried. “I think it’s a valid maneuver to try to wake up or at least expose the hypocrisy of progressive Democrats who say the border is secure and there’s no problem down here,” said Joseph Swiger, one of dozens of Republicans. running for local office in Texas’ border counties, where the GOP has rarely bothered to recruit candidates in the past.
Republished with permission from The Associated Press. Post views: 0
