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Gov. Charlie Baker criticized national Republicans and Democrats Monday, who he said have used a group of Venezuelan migrants sent to Marthas Vineyard earlier this month to score political points.

A group of 50 migrants unexpectedly landed on the island nearly two weeks ago at the behest of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who quickly claimed credit for flying them from San Antonio, Texas, to Massachusetts. It was a move that renewed a national conversation over immigration policy, outraged locals, and touched off a lawsuit filed in federal court in Boston.

Baker said he has watched national Republicans and Democrats who are jockeying to run for president tee off on each other, a situation he said does not help solve the problem of immigration reform.

What we really need is immigration reform in this country, Baker said on GBHs Boston Public Radio. Ive been saying this for over 10 years, and it means that both Republicans and Democrats would have to compromise, and they would probably lose some edge that they might currently have with this issue. But the vast majority of the country would like to have this issue dealt with. And I think the way its being dealt with now gets us nowhere.

Baker, who has decided not to run for reelection and is now a lame-duck governor, also backed off criticizing DeSantis for the move, which some Democrats on Beacon Hill have described as a political stunt.

Im not running for president, he said. So why engage in what is obviously a presidential debate.

The migrants, many of whom had crossed thousands of miles before ending up Texas, were shuttled off Marthas Vineyard after spending two nights in a local church. Officials on the island scrambled to provide immediate shelter, food, medical services and legal assistance when they first arrived on two private jets.

The Baker administration moved the group to Joint Base Cape Cod, and in the weeks since, a debate over proper immigration policies, challenges communities face at the southern border, and how unauthorized immigrants should be dealt with has ensued.

Boston-based legal firm Lawyers for Civil Rights also filed a lawsuit in federal court last week where they are asking a judge to prohibit DeSantis from transporting migrants across the county. The suit alleges the Florida governor violated the Constitutional rights of the migrants, as well as other federal laws.

DeSantis Communications Director Taryn Fenske said in a statement that it is opportunistic that activists would use illegal immigrants for political theater.

If these activists spent even a fraction of this time and effort at the border, perhaps some accountability would be brought to the Biden Administrations reckless border policies that entice illegal immigrants to make dangerous and often lethal journeys through Central America and put their lives in the hands of cartels and Coyotes, Fenske said in a statement.

Baker said many of the migrants left Texas before they were processed by immigration officials.

One of the reasons why theres been a lot of activity with the attorneys is to actually clean up a lot of the work that normally would have happened when they were in Texas, he said, adding some of the migrants have already left Massachusetts to stay with friends and family.

Florida public records show the DeSantis administration paid out a total of $1.5 million to Vertol Systems Company Inc. for a relocation program of unauthorized aliens, including $615,000 a week before the migrants landed in Massachusetts and $950,000 the day after they arrived.

Top Democrats in Florida have asked their House speaker and budget chief to formally object to the spending, which they argue is contrary to a $12 million program the states Legislature authorized over the summer to send unauthorized aliens out of state.

Baker said immigration policy in the United States should be enforceable.

Canada, many other countries that we consider to be sort of moderate on this issue, have figured it out, he said. Theres no reason why we cant if we want to.

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Bluster over migrants sent to Mass. impeding immigration reform, Baker says - MassLive.com

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis political stunt of flying 48 Venezuelan migrants to Marthas Vineyard, a Democratic stronghold and wealthy vacation community, may have won applause from Republican supporters but it also appalled many who saw vulnerable people being used as political pawns. The scheme may trigger a criminal investigation and has brought the question of immigration reform to the forefront at a time when the U.S. is seeing a record number of migrant arrivals.

For decades, politicians and policy experts have talked about the need to fix our broken immigration systemfrom securing the border to paving a path to citizenship so why has reform remained so elusive? Well talk about our immigration policies, why historic numbers of people are coming to the U.S. and why the issues has become so politicized.

Theresa Cardinal Brown, Bipartisan Policy Centers managing director of immigration and cross-border policy who served in both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. @bpc_tbrown

Hamed Aleaziz, immigration policy reporter for the Los Angeles Times. @haleaziz

Los Angeles Times, The Biden administration remade ICE after Trump: But will it last? True to Trumps harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric, ICE officers in his administration were directed to make nearly every immigrant without legal status a priority for arrest even if the person had deep roots in the U.S. and no criminal record.

New York Times, I Ended Up on This Little Island: Migrants Land in Political Drama After long, perilous journeys, Venezuelans unexpectedly found themselves on Marthas Vineyard, wondering what comes next.

Texas Tribune, Arrests along U.S.-Mexico border top 2 million a year for the first time Federal authorities are on pace to make more than 2.3 million arrests during the 2022 fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. That will far exceed last years record of more than 1.7 million arrests.

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The politics of immigration reform - WHYY

SAN DIEGO

Former President Barack Obama said Sunday that the Republican Party is standing in the way of immigration reform and embracing rhetoric that is dangerous for the country.

Obamas comments came during an in-person question-and-answer keynote at San Diegos annual LAttitude conference at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. The event spotlights Latino business, innovation and consumers.

Right now, the biggest fuel behind the Republican agenda is related to immigration and the fear that somehow Americas character is going to be changed if, people of darker shades, there are too many of them here, Obama told moderator Gary Acosta, the co-founder and CEO of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals.

I wish I could be more euphemistic about it except (theyre) not that subtle about it theyre just kind of saying it, Obama said. You hear it on hard-right media, you hear it from candidates and politicians, you hear things like great replacement theory I mean, this is not subtle. Unless were able to return to a more inclusive vision inside the Republican Party, its going to be hard to get a bill done.

The great replacement theory falsely asserts that theres an active and ongoing effort to replace the White majority with non-Whites, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Such language prevalent today is dangerous, Obama said.

A lot of toxic rhetoric in the atmosphere that characterizes those people as different and wanting to tear down America as opposed to build it up, he said. When you have that kind of rhetoric floating around out there, weve seen in history that is dangerous rhetoric. Its dangerous wherever it appears and its dangerous here in the United States.

Its not part of whats best in us; its not part of what makes this country exceptional.

Obama said he did not mean to be partisan and acknowledged the Democratic Partys history as the party of segregation. He also noted some ambivalence among American Latinos on the issue of immigration, noting that Latino voting rates in Texas lagged that of Colorado and California Latinos.

If Latinos in Texas voted at the same rate as Latinos in Colorado, Texas would be a blue state, Obama said. Culturally, we havent built up voting habits and connected that to power. In no other parts of your life do you just give your power away.

Obama did not mention his successor, former President Donald Trump, by name during the one-hour discussion. He did, however, reference Trump twice once as the driving force behind the GOPs embrace of restrictive immigration policies and again to highlight Trumps continuing refusal to accept the result of the 2020 election.

Obamas jab at Trump came as he lamented how the proliferation of COVID-19 vaccine conspiracies prevented millions in the U.S. from taking the shots, likely resulting in preventable deaths. He pivoted from vaccine misinformation to election disinformation.

It goes beyond just that I mean look at elections, Obama said. We used to have arguments about policy. But now, people just make stuff up: I didnt lose.

The line was one of several that received applause from the crowd of about 1,500.

Other topics that came up during the Q&A were centered on the conferences theme, the new mainstream economy, a nod to the economic power and influence of the more than 62 million Latinos in the U.S.

Obama said its not enough for business to have diverse leaders they also need to listen to them.

If you want to make good decisions you have to have as many points of view as possible, because we all have blind spots, Obama said. And that means, for example, that its been shown time and time again that the more women you have on the board, the more successful you company (will be).

Conference attendees staked spots in line as early as 5:30 a.m. almost six hours before the former presidents keynote.

Bethy Beas, a real estate broker from McAllen, Texas, said she was among the first in line at the hotels Seaport Ballroom.

Her forethought appeared to pay off. By 9:30, a line of thousands stretched from the second-floor ballroom and around the event space to the first floor lobby.

Karen Carreno, 32, said that as a DACA recipient, that Obama had changed her life.

DACA Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is an Obama-era policy that allows undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to work and live in the country.

Carreno, who came to San Diego from McAllen with Beas, said she appreciated San Diegos status as a border city like McAllen.

People are really welcoming, she said. Theres overwhelming love and pride for our heritage.

Chumahan Bowen, an attorney from Santa Ana, said he staked his spot in line at 5:30 a.m. As a Native American and member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, Bowen said he is inspired by whats possible for people of color in the U.S.

Mr. Obama represents what this countrys capable of, he said.

After the hour-long keynote, Jacqui Gibbs, a bank lending manager from Newark, N.J., said she connected with Obamas message about listening to communities who arent always given a voice.

I am one of the few African Americans in the audience, she said, and it was as if he was speaking to a group of African Americans a lot of the same things apply.

Gibbs said Obamas parting comments about listening and empowering the next generation stood out to her most.

It was powerful to hear, she said.

More here:
Obama in SD: Republicans embracing rhetoric on immigration that is 'dangerous' for the country - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis decision to airlift 48 migrants from San Antonio, Texas to the island resort of Marthas Vineyard, Mass. last week was depthless in its cruelty and cynicism, evoking the worst of Americas nativist and segregationist history.

But if there was one benefit to this singular act of exploitation for shameless political gain, its that it has refocused broader public attention on our national failure to address immigration reform during a campaign season in which it is an animating issue for Republicans.

And with control of Congress, and governors mansions across the country on the ballot on Nov. 8, DeSantis cruelty also should underline the stakes of a Republican takeover for voters whom data show favor a welcoming immigration policy, but who do not necessarily put reform at the top of their priorities list.

And as the past week has shown, the need is both urgent and real.

We need solutions, not theater, Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat, told CBSs Face the Nation, last week as news of DeSantis stunt roiled the headlines. The migrants are human beings, and weve got to treat them like human beings. They are being used as political pawns to get publicity.

As the Los Angeles Times editorial board recently pointed out, there is real trouble at the nations southern border. Apprehensions by the U.S. Border Patrol rose by more than 22% between July and August.

Thus, a lack of enforcement is not the issue a lack of political will, exacerbated by posturing, is driving this humanitarian crisis.

Its been nearly 40 years since Congress last took substantive action on immigration reform, passing the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986, under then-President Ronald Reagan.

And while there has been some tinkering around the edges since then, substantive reform has remained stubbornly elusive, with the increased polarization of Capitol Hill becoming the primary stumbling block to reform.

If you start trying to get into the issue of immigration, this consumes all the air in the room, all the energy in the room, Southern Methodist University political scientist James Hollifield told the Cape Cod Times. So I can understand why theres a reluctance on the executive branch to get into this.

Polling data, however, is a reminder that there is a path to the middle if lawmakers can summon the courage, and overcome partisan divisions, to find their way there.

Seven in 10 Americans supported a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in a NewsNation poll released earlier this year. Voters in nine critical battleground states also said Congress should move to protect Dreamers, or young people who were illegally brought to the country by their parents while still children.

DeSantis has defended his decision with a deflection, telling Fox News personality Sean Hannity that the reaction to his headline grab is really frustrating. Millions of people since [Joe] Bidens been president, illegally coming across the southern border. Did they freak out about that? No.

Youve had migrants die in the Rio Grande you had 50 die in Texas in a trailer because they were being neglected. Was there a freakout about that? No, there wasnt, DeSantis added.

DeSantis latter assertion is laughably false. The deaths of the 53 migrants who perished in July in whats been described as the deadliest human smuggling case in modern U.S. history, made national headlines. Earlier this month, one of the men charged in the case was denied bond, underscoring the seriousness of the matter.

Of course, DeSantis has reason to deflect. On Monday, a Texas sheriff, elected as a Democrat, announced hed opened a criminal investigation into what he described as an abuse of human rights in connection with the flight, Politico reported.

What we understand is a Venezuelan migrant was paid a bird-dog fee to recruit 50 migrants who were then were lured and I will use the word lured under false pretenses to staying in a hotel for a few days, then taken to an airplane where they were flown to Florida and then Marthas Vineyard under false pretenses of being offered jobs, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said. For what we can gather, a little more than a photo op, a video op and then they were left there.

DeSantis, an inheritor of Trumpism and a widely mentioned 2024 GOP presidential hopeful, has been unrepentant about his stunt, insisting to Foxs Hannity that sanctuary communities such as Marthas Vineyard said they wanted this, they said they were a sanctuary jurisdiction.

Twenty-one years ago this month, speaking to Muslim leaders, and preaching the discarded gospel of compassionate conservatism, President George W. Bush reminded us theres more that brings us together than keeps us apart.

That seems a very long time ago, indeed.

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DeSantis' compassionless act underscores urgency for real immigration reform: Opinion column by John L. Micek - The Wellsboro Gazette

Immigration has muscled its way into the top four issues in the midterm elections, joining inflation, cost of living, violent crime and abortion rights as potential turning points in the control of Congress. Its emergence has come amid accusations of hypocrisy and inhumane treatment, as well as threats of criminal investigations.

The arrival on Marthas Vineyard of 50 immigrants on planes sent by Floridas Republican governor Ron DeSantis ignited all-out war on social and traditional media, momentarily eclipsing the more dominant issues of the past several months and undercutting President Bidens increasingly favorable public approval numbers.

In sending the migrants to the island off the Massachusetts coast, DeSantis joined Republican governors of Texas and Arizona, who have sent 13,000 immigrants since April on buses to New York City, Washington, D.C. and Chicago all self-declared sanctuary cities led by Democrats to protest the administrations failure to control illegal border crossings.

While the governors have routinely been criticized by Democrats for their immigrant relocation policies, it was the migrants arrival on Marthas Vineyard that exploded across the country and produced the rancorous response, including demands that criminal charges be lodged against the chief executives.

The governors and their supporters accused opponents of the rankest sort of hypocrisy for boasting their cities were sanctuaries and welcoming to immigrants, only to demand millions in federal assistance to meet the cost of accommodating them, contending they were ill equipped to manage the influx or by sending them to neighboring communities.

The Republican governors message couldnt have been more direct: The noble motives and virtue signaling of elitist Democrats existed only while illegal immigration was confined to the border states, collapsing quickly when it came to their cities.

While the White House was quick to join the condemnation of the governors actions, it drew increased focus to its record in dealing with the crisis at the southern border.

The administration was not helped by the demonstrably false assertion by Vice President Kamala Harris that the border was secure. Within days of her comment, U. S. Customs and Border Protection announced 2.1 million border encounters in the last year the highest number in history.

Undaunted, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeated Harris claim and like Harris argued the previous administration was responsible.

Democrats were nearly unanimous in condemning the governors, accusing them of cruelty, guilty of human trafficking and using innocent individuals fleeing violence and official corruption in their native countries as political pawns.

No evidence to support trafficking allegations has surfaced yet and there is little Democrats can do to block further transporting migrants to northern cities. The governors have insisted coercion has not been used, that migrants voluntarily board buses or planes to be re-located and that no laws have been broken.

The impact on the financial and social welfare resources of border communities has been crushing according to the governors, forced to bear the burden of caring for and accommodating thousands of migrants but lacking the wherewithal to do so adequately.

The rise in the flow of illegal drugs across the border has added significantly to the difficulties faced by the border towns and elsewhere by narcotics distribution networks.

Partisan politics are certainly at play in the governors actions but engaging in it is a practice familiar to both parties and on a great many conflicting issues.

If the issue of immigration reform is to be addressed comprehensively and fairly, though, Democrats and Republicans must lay down their rhetorical weapons and actions and commit to finding a solution.

Packing families in buses or planes and sending them to distant parts of the nation to score political points accomplishes nothing toward an answer.

At the same time, embracing a policy of denial robs the administration of credibility and suggests it is indifferent to the plight of migrants and unable to offer a viable solution.

The emergence of immigration as a factor in an election only seven weeks off should be sufficient incentive to deal with it in a manner it deserves.

Carl Golden is a senior contributing analyst with the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University in New Jersey. You can reach him at[emailprotected]

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Carl Golden: Immigration a top issue again ahead of the midterms - Press Herald