Delaware Prepares For Migrants After Threats GOP Should Target Biden’s Home State

Topline

The state of Delaware is preparing for the arrival of a flight of migrants leaving from Texas, according to local officials, potentially the latest move by Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis to deliver on his promises to ship undocumented immigrants to other states after sending 48 Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard last week.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis gives a briefing.

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Key Facts

Delaware Department of Health and Social Services as well as Delaware’s Emergency Management Agency are coordinating with community organizations and other partners to help the migrants upon arrival, Emily David Hershman, a spokesperson for Delaware Gov. John Carney (D), told Forbes, after the news was first reported on by Delaware News Journal Tuesday.

Delaware is “prepared to welcome these families in an orderly manner” as they pursue asylum claims, Hershman added.

One of the private planes used by DeSantis to send migrants to Martha’s Vineyard was scheduled to leave San Antonio, Texas, Tuesday morning and make a layover in Crestview, Florida, before landing at the small Delaware Coastal Airport in Georgetown, leading to speculation it could be carrying migrants.

The status of the flight was still unclear three hours after its scheduled departure time, according to Flightradar24. Reports of the flight come a week after Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz suggested in a tweet that President Joe Biden’s home state of Delaware, and more specifically, the popular tourist destination of Rehoboth Beach, where Biden has a vacation home, would be the next target for DeSantis.

DeSantis has also said before he would aim to bus undocumented immigrants to Delware in buses.

What To Watch For

The flight was initially scheduled to land in Georgetown at around 1:30 p.m. ET, though the final arrival time appears to be delayed.

Big Number

$12 million. That’s how much Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature has allocated to move undocumented immigrants from the state, with DeSantis saying last week he would “spend every penny.”

Tangent

A Texas sheriff announced Monday night he will investigate flights organized by DeSantis to send Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard last week. The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, which covers San Antonio, said it opened the probe and was working with lawyers representing the victims as well as federal agencies after migrants were “lured from the Migrant Resource Center” to Florida and finally to Martha’s Vineyard, where they were “left to fend for themselves.”

Key Background

DeSantis, who is seen as a potential leading 2024 Republican presidential candidate, announced last week he was responsible for organizing a flight of 48 Venezualan migrants who had recently crossed the U.S.-Mexico border that arrived on the wealthy island of Martha’s Vineyard. The migrants landed on the island last Wednesday with no prior notice given to local authorities. The efforts are part of a broader attempt led by Republican governors to ship thousands of migrants to Democratic-led states across the country to protest Biden’s immigration policies, which the Republican governors argue has fueled a rise in border crossings. It’s unclear whether DeSantis could face legal consequences for flying migrants to other states. Some suggested he may have violated a federal statute that bans the transport of undocumented immigrants in a “knowing or in a reckless disregard of the fact” that the person came to the U.S. illegally, but other experts said the law would not apply because the migrants were already released by the Department of Homeland Security. The White House has called DeSantis’ efforts “disrespectful to humanity.”