# Republican “migrants stunt”
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656
**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:** 5
### Author:  [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/81 "2022-09-16T15:42:48Z")
What I can’t seem to find out is - whose money was used to pay for DeSantis’ stunt? Did the Florida taxpayers fund moving these folks from a state that wasn’t Florida to another that also wasn’t Florida? Was it federal money intended to be used in Florida for immigrants who actually show up in that state?
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### Author:  [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/82 "2022-09-16T15:46:13Z")
> [@Broomstick](#):
>
> So far, at least, every single person transported on Abbott’s buses and DeSantis’ planes have, in fact, had legal status to be here. Not much difference between “asylum” and “refugee” and in fact there’s considerable overlap.
There’s a considerable difference between an asylum seeker who has not yet had their case determined (and likely will be denied, given our immigration courts) and someone with recognized refugee status.
> [@Broomstick](#):
>
> Given the world’s increasing instability this will only get worse. We can jumped up and down like spoiled brats, pout, stamp our feet, and whine like assholes about people wanting to move here by the millions, or we can accept that people WILL find a way to get here and come up with a real plan on how to deal with the situation.
I dunno, give it a few years with MAGAs in charge, and not only won’t immigrants want to come here, we may be hoping to attain refugee status elsewhere.
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### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/83 "2022-09-16T15:46:24Z")
Trae Crowder (a/k/a “Liberal Redneck”)'s take – about 2m35s:
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJm4UHKGd_o)
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### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/84 "2022-09-16T15:48:48Z")
Here’s a question I haven’t seen answered. How was it determined to place the immigrants/refugees in Florida and Texas AND how much support are the Feds giving those states? Because IF it was Biden saying, “Fuck those red states and they can pay for the fucking.” then that adds a spin to this.
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/85 "2022-09-16T15:51:26Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#):
>
> There’s a considerable difference between an asylum seeker who has not yet had their case determined (and likely will be denied, given our immigration courts) and someone with recognized refugee status.
Not really, in a practical manner.
The asylum seekers in question do have a legal right to be here, even if later they may lose that. They will be here for years, given the current backlog in the courts (which is another thing it would be helpful to address effectively).
How many are denied does seem to vary greatly depending on who is PotUS, which just shows entry is based on politics and not actually merit of claims.
> [@k9bfriender](#):
>
> I dunno, give it a few years with MAGAs in charge, and not only won’t immigrants want to come here, we may be hoping to attain refugee status elsewhere.
Unless the MAGAs get their wish to shoot people in the legs as they cross the border no they won’t. Living illegally in the US, with all the privations and problems that entails, is still better than living than some of the places these people are coming from.
The US would have to descend to the level of Nazi Germany to be that bad. And that is, in fact, a possibility. But we’re not there yet, and I hope never will be.
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### Author:  [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/86 "2022-09-16T15:51:37Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> Because IF it was Biden saying, “Fuck those red states and they can pay for the fucking.” then that adds a spin to this.
Hmm, what are the chances of that? I think you may be thinking of the former guy.
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### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/87 "2022-09-16T15:52:55Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> We’ve thought about retaliating by sending all of our crazy people and criminals to Florida and Texas but we’re worried they’ll get elected to Congress.
How would we notice the difference? 😃
> [@k9bfriender](#):
>
> So, Texas loves guns, right? So, anyone picked up on a weapons charge in Chicago is deposited in Roberts County, Texas.
I like the way you think.
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### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/88 "2022-09-16T15:53:40Z")
> [@RitterSport](#):
>
> I think you may be thinking of the former guy.
Obama?
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/89 "2022-09-16T15:54:00Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> Here’s a question I haven’t seen answered. How was it determined to place the immigrants/refugees in Florida and Texas AND how much support are the Feds giving those states? Because IF it was Biden saying, “Fuck those red states and they can pay for the fucking.” then that adds a spin to this.
The migrants were in Texas because Texas has the longest border with Mexico, which is where these people are crossing into the US. No one in the US “placed” those migrants in Texas, that’s just where the entered the country. The migrants were self-placing.
Second - NONE of these people came from Florida. DeSantis, in his office in Florida, hired jets _in Texas_ to take migrants _from Texas_ (not Florida) to Martha’s vineyard.
So Biden had exactly zero to do with the migrants being in Texas in the first place, and nothing to do with their relocation.
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### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/90 "2022-09-16T15:54:06Z")
> [@RitterSport](#):
>
> Hmm, what are the chances of that? I think you may be thinking of the former guy.
Projection. It’s all projection.
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### Author:  [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/91 "2022-09-16T15:58:37Z")
The reality is that we’re going to have tons of people trying to get into the US, legally, illegally, temporarily, and permanently. They will find a way in – legally, through immigration or refugee channels, or illegally. We can work on ways to deal with it, or we can do idiotic stunts like lying to immigrants who are legally here to trick them into taking a bus to a place, and then not letting the folks at their destination know they’re coming. What an idiotic stunt, and I’m stunned folks in this thread are somehow justifying it.
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/92 "2022-09-16T16:00:43Z")
> [@Velocity](#):
>
> “You pro-lifers talked the talk, now prove it by walking the walk.”
Maybe every time someone holds up a sign stating “We’ll adopt your baby” at a pro-life rally, someone should pull them aside and start filling out the paperwork. See how long it takes before they say that they’re not actually interested in adopting a child.
> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> Why do they want to deny the same opportunity to people today?
Isn’t that the textbook definition of ‘fuck you, I got mine’?
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### Author:  [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/93 "2022-09-16T16:24:09Z")
> [@Broomstick](#):
>
> Not really, in a practical manner.
In a manner that is relevant to @Saint_Cad’s cite, yes.
From the first line of their cite:
> [@](#):
>
> Refugees selected for resettlement through U.S. Refugee Admissions Program are eligible for Reception and Placement (R&P) assistance, unlike asylees, who arrive in the United States on their own.
@Saint_Cad was asking about their status under this program, and I pointed out that they are not eligible for it. Not sure how we got talking past each other after that.
> [@Broomstick](#):
>
> The US would have to descend to the level of Nazi Germany to be that bad. And that is, in fact, a possibility. But we’re not there yet, and I hope never will be.
I hope not either, but it is my fear, and it certainly seems to be _their_ fantasy.
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### Author:  [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/94 "2022-09-16T16:27:43Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> Is it fair for the Feds to tell states/cities that they will have to take refugees over their objections?
Is it fair for people to complain that border states are “being overwhelmed” by immigrants, and then also complain about a system being in place to try to spread that burden around?
That’s a classic, “Not like that” joke right there.
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### Author:  [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/95 "2022-09-16T16:38:34Z")
> [@Broomstick](#):
>
> Second - NONE of these people came from Florida. DeSantis, in his office in Florida, hired jets _in Texas_ to take migrants _from Texas_ (not Florida) to Martha’s vineyard.
QFT. It’s been reported in several places, so it wasn’t hard information to find. DeSantis decided to butt in to take part in culture wars, to be funded by Florida taxpayers.
It’s being reported the Martha’s Vineyard authorities had to ask residents to stop making donations of food and clothing (some of them reported being cold and the islanders came up big) and other items for these folks because they couldn’t handle any more. It is true they don’t have sufficient housing on the island - temporarily housing was made available in a church.
So, yes, they had to be transported (but with food and clothing and other essentials, unlike how Texas or Florida does things) to places they can better be cared for than they currently are.
Texas has solicited private donations for the busing, but they haven’t received a lot for it. It’s almost certainly going to be funded by taxpayers unless some private donor steps up. So, some of my taxes are going to it, which I’m not exactly thrilled with.
Ditto Florida with this latest stunt. There’s reports the Florida legislature has allocated funds for transport of migrants, so it is highly likely Florida taxpayers are bearing the brunt of the costs for chartering flights from a different state to Martha’s Vineyard.
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### Author:  [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/96 "2022-09-16T16:46:50Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#):
>
> So, in short, although it’s a known matter of fact that border towns don’t actually have a migrant problem, and that they migrate to cities anyhow (because duh, that’s where the jobs are), DeSantis made a spectacle of hiring transportation to do exactly the same as happens in the status quo, simply so he could step in front of a camera and say “how ya like them apples, libs?” (possibly in violation of 8 USC 1324 regarding illegal transport of certain aliens).
>
> And to add stupidity to injury, even though the people in the destination communities [welcomed and mobilized to assist the migrants](https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/migrants-arrive-warm-welcome-marthas-vineyard/), the bobbing heads are still slapping each other on the back saying “boy are the libs mad! those are really some mad libs! they sure don’t like it when the tables are turned!” notwithstanding the fact that nobody turned any tables and nobody’s mad about migrants in their communities.
>
> The only thing to be mad about is the obvious dishonesty of the stunt, and the cruelty of using people as pawns for an opportunity to smirk in front of a camera, and just how consciously stupid people can pretend to be when it suits their narrative. That, I’m mad about.
I just want to highlight this post from HMS-Irruncible, who is 100% spot on and nails exactly what is going on here.
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### Author:  [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/97 "2022-09-16T17:24:42Z")
> [@Broomstick](#):
>
> Can’t speak for other locations, but Chicago seems to be doing exactly that.
No, Chicago is doing no such thing. Soon after they arrived at Union Station in Chicago, the mayor had them shipped off to the suburbs, such as Elk Grove Village and Burr Ridge. Is she “playing games with people’s lives” and engaging in human trafficking?
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### Author:  [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/98 "2022-09-16T17:39:59Z")
Can you please provide a cite for these claims? As far as I can tell, from, for example, [this article](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-chicago-texas-migrants-elk-grove-20220913-3nnwwtzphnh4zfyz2vpny5bb7e-story.html), the state is coordinating the location and relocation of the immigrants being shipped to Illinois with no notice by Texas. It’s not the mayor.
And, since you’re here, what is your opinion on this stunt? Can you help me connect the dot between, on the one hand, Florida paying to fly refugees in Texas to Martha’s Vineyard to, on the other hand, doing something to solve our immigration issues?
Or, can we both agree that this was an idiotic attention-seeking stunt by DeSantis trying to get more prominent with the base?
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### Author:  [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/99 "2022-09-16T17:54:48Z")
According to the article you quoted, Burr Ridge was NOT given notice by Chicago or the State before the immigrants arrived.
“Grasso said Lightfoot called him Sunday to say he should have been given notice of the arrivals to a hotel in Burr Ridge on Wednesday.”
So why is Lightfoot complaining about lack of notice from Abbott?
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### Author:  [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2022, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-migrants-stunt/971656/100 "2022-09-16T18:05:12Z")
The notice should have come from the state, not from Lightfoot. As I wrote:
> [@RitterSport](#):
>
> the state is coordinating the location and relocation of the immigrants being shipped to Illinois with no notice by Texas. It’s not the mayor.
> [@D\_Anconia](#):
>
> So why is Lightfoot complaining about lack of notice from Abbott?
Because Abbott was responsible for sending the immigrants to the Chicago area.
Also…
> [@RitterSport](#):
>
> And, since you’re here, what is your opinion on this stunt? Can you help me connect the dot between, on the one hand, Florida paying to fly refugees in Texas to Martha’s Vineyard to, on the other hand, doing something to solve our immigration issues?
>
> Or, can we both agree that this was an idiotic attention-seeking stunt by DeSantis trying to get more prominent with the base?
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