As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gives liberals in Massachusetts what they say they want – a population of illegal immigrants that they can embrace – one Sunshine State mayor laments that people who broke the law to enter America are not sent to his community.
Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe tweeted on Thursday that he(his/him) would happily resettle illegals in the home of the University of Florida.
“Instead of sending families fleeing violence in Venezuela to Martha’s Vineyard, bring them to Gainesville,” said Poe.
“They will be welcomed, we will use the money to house them and they will add to [the] cultural and economic foundation of our city.”
The “money” Poe referred to was his caveat for accepting the folks the Republican governor is assisting to find aid in wealthy Martha’s Vineyard.
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His condition for accepting the illegals was that they come “along with the $12m.”
This year, the Republican-led Legislature banked $12 million for DeSantis’ discretion to deal with the illegal immigration problem.
Back in April, when he announced the funding, DeSantis said, “If you sent [the illegal immigrants] to Delaware or Martha’s Vineyard or some of these places, that border would be secure the next day. That border would be secure.”
The border may not be secure – yet. But DeSantis has made a point.
The governor sent just 50 illegals to Martha’s Vineyard and, as the New York Post reported Thursday, the local tourism board immediately declared a “humanitarian crisis.”
That is the equivalent of the number that would have crossed the Texas border in just 25 minutes in April, when a record 234,000 people flowed illegally into the U.S.
Nonetheless, Mayor Poe wanted the $12 million, apparently, so his constituents, who like the folks in Martha’s Vineyard have cloaked themselves with the “sanctuary city” mantle, won’t have to cover the actual cost of caring for these illegals. He instead wants that burden spread across all Florida taxpayers.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Free Press.
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