# Republican “migrants stunt” **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 16, 2022, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656 "2022-09-16T08:04:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/281 "2022-09-25T12:48:28Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I can’t help but think that the rejection of this option is connected to the fact that a lot of the people matching that description also happen to have darker skin and/or non-Christian religions which for some stupid reason scares some people. I am absolutely certain of this - I live in NYC and and there are plenty of undocumented , white , English-speaking people living here who are neither highly educated nor particularly skilled . But the people who want to “close the Mexican border” never seem to have a problem with the white people who came as tourists and just never left, not even when their existence is pointed out. Somehow , they are “different” although no one can ever explain how, ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/282 "2022-09-25T14:13:08Z")
DeSantis should, at the very least be made to fulfill the promises he made to get them on the plane. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/283 "2022-09-25T14:57:30Z")
But it wasn’t DeSantis who made the promises, at least in the Martha’s Vineyard case. Said “Massachusetts Welcomes You” right thar on the [brochure](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/U9cUt6e3KLK2oSZvEMVO0g--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcyMDtjZj13ZWJw/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/.vzV4oTCv43BSfhXd6T0yQ--~B/aD05MDA7dz0xMjAwO2FwcGlkPXl0YWNoeW9u/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_independent_635/325f5f94fa71862ee663670c383bca27)! ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/284 "2022-09-25T16:04:23Z")
There’s the visa lottery, which requires only a high school diploma and a clean criminal record. It allows about 100,000 people per year, iirc. Obviously only a tiny fraction of the demand. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/285 "2022-09-25T16:37:05Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I am absolutely certain of this - I live in NYC and and there are plenty > of undocumented , white , English-speaking people living here who are neither highly educated nor particularly skilled . But the people who want to “close the Mexican border” never seem to have a problem with the white people who came as tourists and just never left, not even when their existence is pointed out. Somehow , they are “different” although no one can ever explain how, Being in New York might skew your perspective a bit just like being in Arkansas might skew mine. I don’t run into a whole lot of uneducated white foreign nationals whose visas have run out here in the Natural State. It turns out the U.S. Department of Homeland Security keeps track of this kind of thing and here’s their list of where the most illegal immigrants are from. 1. Mexico - This should not be a surprise. 2. El Salvador 3. Guatamala 4. India 5. Honduras 6. Philippines 7. China 8. Korea 9. Vietnam 10. Dominican Republic 11. Other (at 2,000,000) I would like an immigration policy that is both humane and recognizes the economic reality that we need these folks to continue to function. But one of the reasons people don’t have a problem with undoucmented workers come from Canada or Europe is because they make up a pretty small percentage of the overall population. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/286 "2022-09-25T17:07:54Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > It turns out the U.S. Department of Homeland Security keeps track of this kind of thing and here’s their list of where the most illegal immigrants are from. Is that list based on those apprehended? If so, there’s a glaring flaw in using it to measure who is actually residing in the US illegally, especially those who entered legally but overstayed their visa. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/287 "2022-09-25T17:11:17Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > But one of the reasons people don’t have a problem with undoucmented workers come from Canada or Europe is because they make up a pretty small percentage of the overall population. Yeah, I don’t think that’s the main reason. It’s because they have the courtesy to be white. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/288 "2022-09-25T17:13:37Z")
What might skew my perspective is that I know they exist - because even in Arkansas you wouldn’t necessarily know whether a bartender is an undocumented immigrant from Ireland or a citizen/green card holder who grew up in Ireland. No, they don’t make up a significant proportion of the undocumented population - but the same people who have complaints about other undocumented immigrants just say “they’re different” when asked why they don’t voice objections to the undocumented Irish. And the main obvious difference is that they are white. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/289 "2022-09-25T17:16:22Z")
It’s rather unbelievable that Canadians don’t even make it into the top ten. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/290 "2022-09-25T17:39:01Z")
Why? there is very little reason for a Canadian to want to come live here illegally. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/291 "2022-09-25T17:45:54Z")
Plenty have reason to live here legally. Are those Canadians that can’t get a green card just more law abiding than those who look or speak differently than Americans? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/292 "2022-09-25T17:48:16Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Being in New York might skew your perspective a bit just like being in Arkansas might skew mine. I don’t run into a whole lot of uneducated white foreign nationals whose visas have run out here in the Natural State. How do you know? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/293 "2022-09-25T18:48:51Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > there is very little reason for a Canadian to want to come live here illegally. I’m answering as someone born to and raised by an illegal immigrant from Canada: that is not true. The US is ten times the size of Canada, and thus has more opportunities. Pre-9/11, as well, it was a different story than it is now. People weren’t as aware of the healthcare disparity. Anglophone Canadians in particular could cross the border with ease and intergrate very easily. My parent was in the US illegally for over 30 years. They aquired a social security card in the 1960s without lying: you had to declare your birthplace but not your citizenship. (At least, that’s what was told to me: I have no way of verifying.) ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/294 "2022-09-25T19:33:18Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Is that list based on those apprehended? If so, there’s a glaring flaw in using it to measure who is actually residing in the US illegally, especially those who entered legally but overstayed their visa. No, it’s based on estimates of total population in the United States as of 2014. I don’t know what methods they used to come up with that estimate, but I imagine solid numbers are difficult to come by given the nature of being undocumented. > [@doreen](#): > > What might skew my perspective is that I know they exist - because even in Arkansas you wouldn’t necessarily know whether a bartender is an undocumented immigrant from Ireland or a citizen/green card holder who grew up in Ireland. I wouldn’t know that about anyone regardless of their skin color or accent. The brown dude with the Spanish accent making my margarita might originally be from Mexico, Puerto Rico, or San Antonio for all I know. > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > It’s rather unbelievable that Canadians don’t even make it into the top ten. Not at all. Most undocumented workers come to the Unites States for economic opportunities. There’s not as great an incentive for the citizens of Canda to come knocking for opportunity. It’s the reason why we don’t have a lot of undocumented workers from France, Ireland, or Spain. > [@Chronos](#): > > How do you know? I don’t know where you’re from, but generally foreigners have a different accent from the locals. Even white foreigners. And, again, the number of undocumented workers from Europe or Canada is fairly low. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/295 "2022-10-03T12:45:15Z")
One of the elements of this story that we heard was that a woman calling herself “Perla” was recruiting migrants for this “three hour tour” (empty “Gilligan’s Island” reference). Perla – it’s looking like – wasn’t just a lady with an HR background: > **[Florida's Venezuela migrant flight recruiter 'Perla' identified as ex-Army...](https://news.yahoo.com/floridas-venezuela-migrant-flight-recruiter-044524254.html)** > > Florida's Venezuela migrant flight recruiter 'Perla' identified as ex-Army counterintelligence agent > [@](#): > > The four dozen Venezuelan asylum-seekers flown to Martha’s Vineyard on Sept. 14 have told lawyers and news organizations they were lured onto private planes in Texas by a woman named Perla, who gave them McDonald’s gift cards, a hotel room, and false promises of jobs, cash assistance, and housing at the end of the fight. The woman’s name really is Perla, The New York Times and CNN reported Sunday, and she was recently discharged from the Army and lives in Tampa, Florida. > > Perla Huerta, the Times reports, was a combat medic and counterintelligence agent in her two decades in the Army, with several deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan Coincidence? Oh, I rather doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/296 "2022-10-03T15:25:14Z")
I wonder just what her role was in counter intelligence. She used her real name, gave out business cards and allowed herself to be photographed by some of the refugees, even tho the job she was doing was hid from everyone in Texas government, even the governor. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/297 "2022-10-03T21:10:12Z")
Once you’re a true-believer in Trumpism, damn near anything goes. Including everything you learned in Intel school and 20 years practice in that field. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/298 "2022-10-03T21:15:44Z")
Around here, most of the illegal immigrants are Irish or Brazilian. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/299 "2022-10-04T04:37:03Z")
This made me think of something that happened in previous almost all-white Dubuque, Iowa in the 1980s, where some do-gooders decided that the town needed more diversity, so they contacted people in (mainly) the St. Louis area and offered black people incentives to move to Dubuque, and as one might expect, St. Louis sent the kind of people that most people wouldn’t want in their town, regardless of their race, socio-economic status, etc. I worked with a guy who grew up with the white racists who went on an infamous “Donahue” episode, for harassing the new arrivals, and he said they were the biggest punks out there. Yeah, I know this is the New York Post, but the only other source I found about it as of now was The Daily Beast, so I’m taking this story with a hefty grain of salt. It still wouldn’t surprise me, especially as a ruse for rounding up some slave labor for the cleanup effort. > **[NYC migrants pile into vans they say are headed to Florida for Hurricane Ian...](https://nypost.com/2022/10/02/nyc-migrants-pile-into-vans-they-say-are-headed-to-florida-for-hurricane-ian-cleanup/)** > > “They want us for hurricane cleanup, we’d get paid $15 an hour, overtime and $15 for food daily, I think,” one Venezuelan migrant told The Post. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/300 "2022-10-04T19:20:16Z")
Do folk expect any fallout for DeSantis/Abbott - or any other specific individuals? Along the lines of Christie’s bridge fiasco? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656.md?page=16)