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Markey leads call for federal probe of DeSantis over ‘cruel’ migrant stunt
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Markey leads call for federal probe of DeSantis over ‘cruel’ migrant stunt
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U.S. Sen. Ed Markey led six fellow Massachusetts Democrats in the House Friday in calling on the Treasury Department to investigate GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ apparent abuse of federal Covid-19 relief funds to send two flights of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard this week.
Markey and Reps. Jake Auchincloss, Bill Keating, Jim McGovern, Seth Moulton, Ayanna Pressley, and Lori Trahan sent a letter to the department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) given the governor’s use of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) “to cruelly relocate vulnerable immigrants from Florida to other states across the country.”
The lawmakers suggested the state’s “inhumane program” violates federal law and urged the OIG to not only investigate but also “take all necessary action—including potentially rescinding any misused funds—to stop this abuse of coronavirus relief programs.”
Reportedly lured in by the false promise of jobs, one migrant from Peru and 49 from Venezuela—including children—were flown to the Massachusetts island community on Wednesday. While residents welcomed them and rushed to provide food, clothing, and shelter, DeSantis has faced intense criticism for what the lawmakers and others have denounced as a “political stunt.”
To pull it off, the lawmakers’ letter explains, “DeSantis tapped a $12 million program that the Florida Legislature created earlier this year to allow the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to ‘facilitate the transport of unauthorized aliens out of Florida.'”
