Migrants flown from Florida to California underscore deep partisan divides over immigration

Both sides of the partisan aisle in Congress share at least one takeaway from the 36 Latin American migrants flown to Sacramento by Florida officials this week — the U.S. immigration system is broken.

It’s how to fix it that puts them in gridlock.

“What’s frustrating is we have a completely open border,” Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida Republican, said Wednesday. Scott said he did not know all the facts about these flights, but that “states are doing a variety of things.”

Sen. Alex Padilla, a California Democrat who is a strong federal advocate for immigrants’ rights, said flying migrants was “despicable and cowardly.”

“It does nothing to move towards solutions to our broken immigration system,” he said.

Congress has failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform in over two decades. Instead, a patchwork of executive orders, small measures and court decisions have set the rules for people coming to the U.S. That includes a new Biden administration policy tightening regulations for asylum seekers.

The partisan divide over immigration reform has heightened dramatically since 2008, according to Gallup, the analytics company. Differences over immigration grew under former President Donald Trump, who exploited resentments of white voters by denigrating certain immigrant groups and promising a border wall that was never completed.

Since, people seeking to enter the U.S. have wrongfully been used in political stunts, according to federal Democrats.

“Those who seek refuge in our country should never be used as political pawns,” said Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento. “Many of them have traveled hundreds or thousands of miles to reach a better life. This unacceptable and appalling stunt has put pending immigration processes in jeopardy.”

Ron DeSantis relocates migrants to Sacramento

On Friday, 16 migrants from Venezuela and Colombia were taken from El Paso, Texas, to New Mexico, and then flown by private chartered plane to Sacramento. They were bused to the doorstep of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento. A second flight of 20 followed on Monday.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office confirmed Tuesday that it arranged the trips. DeSantis, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination and often spars with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, previously sent a plane full of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.

Alecia Collins, the communications director for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said in a statement Tuesday that the migrants’ relocation to the California Capitol was “voluntary.” Florida has a tax-funded program to relocate migrants.

“Through verbal and written consent, these volunteers indicated they wanted to go to California,” Collins wrote. “A contractor was present and ensured they made it safely to a third party N.G.O.”

Biden’s immigration and border plans

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday that the flights and other efforts by GOP governors to ship migrants out of their states cause “chaos” and “confusion.” But she declined to say whether the actions were illegal.

“It just doesn’t make sense,” Jean-Pierre said. “They’re playing games and are not going to actually deal with the issue at hand.”

The press secretary encouraged the governors to work with President Joe Biden on a bipartisan solution way to the situation deal at the southern border.

While the Biden administration has supported immigration reform, it is unlikely that any of his proposals will get to the finish line in a divided Congress.

The Biden administration recently established a new policy making it harder for people to seek asylum. Those who arrive at the U.S. border without prior authorization must show proof that they requested asylum in any of the countries they traveled through, and that the request was denied.

The new rule started when pandemic-related Title 42 ended. Invoked under Trump, the immigration policy allowed border officials to swiftly expel asylum-seekers in the name of public health.

Though federal and state authorities expected a surge of people looking to cross the border since Title 42 ended, that was not the case. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported Tuesday that unlawful entries along the southern border have decreased 70% since Title 42 expired in May.

Immigration advocates criticized both Title 42 and Biden’s new rule, likening it to a Trump policy. The administration contended that more tools will help people seek asylum legally, including a smartphone application that can be used to make an appointment to have their request reviewed.

California Democrats slam DeSantis

Regardless, California House Democrats denounced sending migrants across states.

“Governor DeSantis’ actions are shameful,” Rep. Ami Bera, D-Elk Grove, said Wednesday. “Rather than responsibly addressing the immigration challenges facing our country, Governor DeSantis is using vulnerable human beings as pawns in a political stunt.”

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, said, “the stunt is sophomoric, immoral and unkind.”

“I think it’s a political stunt by Governor Ron DeSantis,” said Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno. “We need to fix our broken immigration system, this does nothing to bring about bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform which is needed.”

Bera and Matsui said that they were proud of Sacramento-area groups for coming together to support the migrants — and that the community will continue to do so.

Said Matsui, “Sacramento will always focus on the humanity, dignity and respect for those who seek help.”

McClatchyDC’s Alex Roarty contributed to this story.