Florida last week flew approximately 50 migrants who illegally crossed the US-Mexico border to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. The state of Texas, meanwhile, sent busloads of migrants to Vice President Kamala Harris’ home near the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC.
On Tuesday, the White House said it is aware of reports that DeSantis sent an airplane with dozens of asylum-seeking migrants to an airport near President Joe Biden's vacation home in Rehoboth, Delaware.
Garcia received a phone call early Thursday morning after the migrants were dropped off near Harris’ house and rushed to the scene before heading to Massachusetts.
"It's one of the most disgusting, low-life… political stunts I've seen - and I've seen a lot of little ones - using human beings, children, families as political [props]," Garcia said about Republicans bussing migrants to other cities.
Garcia said he saw about 100 refugees on the sidewalk in front of Harris' house with no food, no water, no supplies, "and no information on where to get any of that."
The migrants that were dropped off near Harris’ home were taken to a church where they were given basically sleeping bags to sleep on the floor until they could find the appropriate transportation to get them wherever they needed to go, Garcia said.
Migrants who had crossed the Rio Grande river into the U.S. are under custody of National Guard members as they await the arrival of U.S. Border Patrol agents in Eagle Pass, Texas, Friday, May 20, 2022
© AP Photo / Dario Lopez-Mills
Texas Governor Greg Abbott bused another 50 migrants to Harris' Naval Observatory residence on Saturday as well.
"I also went to Martha's Vineyard and met with the refugees that were air dropped by Governor DeSantis," Garcia said. "They were lied to - deceitful tactics were used to get them on a plane."
Garcia pointed out that DeSantis might be facing criminal conspiracy charges related to human trafficking and kidnapping, and conspiracy to recruit and hire illegal aliens to work.
DeSantis said during a recent press conference that he hired a third-party contractor to divert any undocumented migrants that may have been Florida-bound. The migrants that arrived at Martha's Vineyard last week had reportedly been promised jobs and three months of housing in Washington, New York, Philadelphia, or Boston.
"Martha's Vineyard has no infrastructure for refugees like [Texas cities] El Paso or San Antonio, so that's just very cruel and inhumane to use people as political props like that," Garcia said.
The White House said it is coordinating closely with state officials and local service providers who are prepared to welcome these families to Delaware in an orderly manner as they pursue their asylum claims.
US Migrant Advocacy Groups Struggle to Provide Migrants Shelter
Abbott has transported more than 11,000 migrants apprehended at the US-Mexico border to so-called "sanctuary cities" like Chicago, New York City, and Washington, DC. Most of those migrants arrived at the US capital, which pushed the mayor to declare a public emergency in order to respond to the situation because of its lack of refugee infrastructure.
Garcia said migrant advocacy groups in the US capital and along the US-Mexico border are having a hard time keeping up with the situation.
All the border towns, he added, are also struggling and have legitimate complaints regarding the flow of illegal immigration.
"There has to be a way... to create more doors for legal immigration and shut down the illegal immigration," he said.
Migrant advocacy groups in the United States need more funding and capacity to address the record-number of migrants continuing to come through the US southern border, Garcia said.
"[More] funding, they need more capacity, more money for housing and more money for vouchers to get these immigrants to where they need to get to," Garcia said. "I saw that in El Paso they just spent $2 million of the city budget to get buses to take these immigrants. That should be federal funding... the federal government has to step up."
Garcia also highlighted that most of the migrant advocacy groups are dealing with come from Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua, which is also supported by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.
"The advocates tell me [migrants are mostly] Venezuelans, Cubans, and Nicaraguans, because they know that those countries won't take them back," Garcia said.
"We have no relationships with them. If it's a Mexican [migrant] they get sent back to Mexico. If it's a Central American, they get sent back to Central America. So there's sort of a loophole that needs to be closed. I think the Biden administration needs to resume relationships with Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua and start deporting those citizens back to those countries."
The US government can take a number of steps to deter the overwhelming flow of migrants at the southern border, Garcia said.
Biden Reportedly Urging Mexico to Accept More US Returns of Migrants From Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela
15 September 2022, 10:13 GMT
US lawmakers need to reach a consensus on bipartisan immigration reform that creates a pathway for citizenship for immigrants that are already in the United States, provide more seasonal worker visas to immigrants for agriculture or essential worker jobs, and provide more resources to the border towns and law enforcement agencies dealing with illegal immigration along the US-Mexico border, Garcia said.
Well over two million migrants have entered the United States illegally via the US southern border since October, breaking last year's record set under the Biden administration's watch. The influx has severely strained local, state and federal resources on the southern border that are trying to handle the situation.