Ron DeSantis floats sending Haitian refugees to Martha’s Vineyard

DeSantis AP
'We do have our transport program also that's going to be operational.'

The return of Air DeSantis may be imminent.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said some undocumented immigrants intercepted while attempting to land in Florida from Haiti may lead to a trip to New England for those refugees.

“We do have our transport program also that’s going to be operational,” DeSantis said. “So Haitians who land in the Florida Keys, their next stop very well may be Martha’s Vineyard.”

These could be costly trips; previous junkets cost taxpayers $35,000 per traveler.

DeSantis has often defended his administration’s transport of undocumented immigrants to Massachusetts — which some critics have described as “human trafficking” — including saying during a presidential campaign stop that the trips were compatible with the teachings of Jesus Christ. He has accused Martha’s Vineyard of falsely “advertising” being a sanctuary city.

While some states could simply “put them back over the border,” DeSantis claims that Florida couldn’t do that as a “maritime state.”

“The problem when you get to a situation like Florida is if they have people in our state and we wanted to fly them, say, back to Haiti, you have to get clearance to be able to do that. If you wanted to fly somebody to a South American country, wherever they’re from, it becomes a little bit more difficult because the federal government is going to tell those countries not to accept our planes.”

The Governor already launched Operation Vigilant Sentry, which is designed to keep Haitian refugees from making landfall and finding refuge in Florida, with 250 total forces deployed. More than half of them are from the Florida State Guard.

In addition to that 133-member contingent, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will send 39 additional officers, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will deploy 23 additional officers with eight additional seacraft, the Florida National Guard will engage 48 additional Guardsmen with four additional helicopters, and the Florida Highway Patrol will allocate 30 additional officers with an additional aircraft and drones for surveillance.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has written for FloridaPolitics.com since 2014. He is based in Northeast Florida. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


18 comments

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  • PeterH

    March 19, 2024 at 3:52 pm

    Republicans are America’s worst enemy!

    Vote all Republicans out of office!

  • MH/Duuuval

    March 19, 2024 at 7:47 pm

    My guess is Ron never got to Martha’s while attending two Ivy League schools, and now he can work out his hurt feelings. Even better from his point of view: These will be Haitians and not Latinos he is trafficking.

  • Barbara hill

    March 19, 2024 at 7:59 pm

    He is a little man.in many ways

  • Bill Pollard

    March 19, 2024 at 10:05 pm

    He is wasting our tax dollars while torturing these people in the process. I hope he gets sued over all this nonsense.

  • Ron DiSaster

    March 19, 2024 at 11:00 pm

    Playing political games with human beings who have suffered incredible trauma. If this doesn’t prove that DeSantis is nothing but a giant piece of human sh!t, I don’t know what does.

    And to think some of his followers even call themselves “Christians”. Despicable.

  • John

    March 19, 2024 at 11:59 pm

    Ron please ship them to Obamas house on his doorstep, he made the bed 🤣🤣

    • Jae

      March 20, 2024 at 3:03 am

      Obama hasn’t even been in office in 12 years, yet you blame him for this? You are a sad man.

      • MH/Duuuval

        March 20, 2024 at 9:22 am

        “John” has multiple personalities online and this is reflected in his inability to function in the present.

  • Mamaree

    March 20, 2024 at 8:37 am

    In all of the negative comments about DeSants, I didn’t see anyone offering their home to house a Haitian or two. Talk is cheap…

    • MH/Duuuval

      March 20, 2024 at 9:21 am

      How many of our own homeless have you taken in, pilgrim?

    • Jenny

      March 20, 2024 at 9:26 am

      That’s because when DeSantis changed the state insurance bill in 2021 and insurance companies have been increasing our premiums ever since that my condo’s insurance premium is now $3,600 and living on SS I need to move because my income will not cover the new policy, just in my area hundreds of condos are for sale so we can’t offer what we don’t have.

  • Matthew

    March 20, 2024 at 10:23 am

    Why don’t you ship them to your mother’s house. Trailer trash

  • Kathy

    March 20, 2024 at 10:35 am

    This man is disgusting. May he never be forgiven for his anti Christian behaviors.

  • Dr. Franklin Waters

    March 20, 2024 at 10:40 am

    This is what sociopathic behavior looks like.

  • LawLib

    March 20, 2024 at 11:37 am

    Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis may want to take a Florida taxpayer sponsored flight outta here permanently and quit castigating Canadian legislators and Haitian refugees for expressing their desire for peace and freedom from tyranny.

    • Glenn Miller

      March 20, 2024 at 1:05 pm

      Good one BIL!👍

  • Dorothy Ennis

    March 20, 2024 at 1:14 pm

    Talk is cheap have any of you been sick and been in the hosputal even with insurance your out of pocket is sky high thats because all these pwople come cross one border or the other goes to the hospitals no Insurance and the Insured patients have to pay for them too its sad milluons of people are on fix income

Comments are closed.


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