August 26, 2022

Controversy continues over DeSantis' $12 million plan to transport undocumented migrants out of Florida

Douglas Soule writes:

"Florida Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Núñez sparked outrage in South Florida when she told a Spanish-language radio show host last weekend that Gov. Ron DeSantis would send undocumented Cuban migrants apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border to President Biden’s home state of Delaware.

She later issued a statement clarifying her remarks, saying they were misinterpreted and that she was not singling out Cuban migrants fleeing a communist dictatorship but other migrants attempting to illegally cross the border into the U.S.

But the controversy brought renewed attention on DeSantis’ immigration policies, specifically a plan to use $12 million to pay for the transportation of undocumented immigrants dropped in Florida from the U.S.-Mexico border.

...

The $12 million money comes from interest earnings from Florida’s $8.8 billion portion of the American Rescue Plan’s Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund. It provided $350 billion to state and local governments, which the U.S. Treasury said is 'to support their response to and recovery from the COVID-19 public health emergency.'

'The purpose of the fund was meant to help Floridians recover from the lingering impacts of the pandemic,' said Alexis Tsoukalas, a Florida Policy Institute [emphasis added] policy analyst who focuses on immigration and labor issues.

Because the $12 million is from interest, said Tsoukalas, it doesn’t fall under the same rules as the federal fund itself. Still, she said that the $12 million was 'unfaithful to the spirit of the federal aid.'”

Read more on heraldtribune.com

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