Ahead of Kansas rally, Schmidt backs DeSantis sending migrants to Martha’s Vineyard
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the GOP nominee for Kansas governor, defended Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to send two planes full of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard days before he is scheduled to campaign for Schmidt in Olathe.
In a statement to The Star, Schmidt said Republican governors have been “pleading” for President Joe Biden’s administration to provide more help at the border for more than a year.
“If rerouting the influx of migrants to sanctuary cities filled with some of our nation’s richest and most powerful elites will force Democrats to finally take this issue seriously — as Kansans have for decades — I’m all for it,” Schmidt said.
DeSantis, a potential GOP presidential contender in 2024, is headlining a rally with Schmidt at the Embassy Suites in Olathe.
The event in Olathe is part of a nationwide tour DeSantis is taking to campaign for Republican candidates in battleground states.
DeSantis took credit Wednesday night after two planes full of undocumented immigrants, primarily Venezuelan migrants fleeing political persecution, were dropped off in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. News of the planes was originally announced on Fox News.
The Kansas Democratic Party criticized Schmidt for associating with DeSantis.
“This was an unnecessary and harmful taxpayer-funded political stunt–it’s no surprise Schimdt has found himself an ally in Governor DeSantis by inviting him to our state,” Emma O’Brien, spokesperson for the KDP said in a statement.
In his statement defending DeSantis, Schmidt criticized incumbent Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly for calling requests for more border security “political games,” a reference to a comment Kelly made last year when Kansas Republicans called on her to send the Kansas National Guard to the border. At the time of the request, the Kansas National Guard had already been at the border for nearly a year after a deployment under former President Donald Trump.
Kelly’s campaign did not respond to The Star’s request for comment.
DeSantis’ office said it was part of a plan to relocate undocumented immigrants from Florida to sanctuary cities. He framed it as a way of pushing back on Biden administration immigration policies.
Though DeSantis chartered the flights, they originated in Texas, according to The Miami Herald. One of the flights stopped in Florida and North Carolina before its final destination in Massachusetts, according to flight records. .
“We are not a sanctuary state. 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,” DeSantis said at a press conference, according to the Miami Herald.
The move prompted uproar in Miami, where there is a large Venezuelan population, and nationally.
“Using migrants as political pawns is shameful, is reckless and just plain wrong,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a daily briefing. “Remember these are people who are fleeing communism, who are fleeing hardship.”
Migrants in the group said they had promised jobs and assistance when they agreed to board the plane, unaware that it was headed to Martha’s Vineyard.
“They were told there was a surprise present for them, and that there would be jobs and housing awaiting for them when they arrived. This was obviously a sadistic lie,” Rachel Self, a Boston immigration attorney who was assisting with the migrants’ cases, told the Herald.
In addition to DeSantis’ chartered flights, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent two buses of migrants to Vice President Kamala Harris’ Washington, D.C. residence on Thursday.
This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 4:50 PM.
