Immigration

Illegal migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard on ‘voluntary basis’ and ‘signed wavers’ file lawsuit against DeSantis, others

Published

9 months ago

September 21, 2022

A group of illegal immigrants that were flown to Martha’s Vineyard last week have come together to file a federal class-action complaint against Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, and others on Tuesday.

The plaintiffs claim they were duped into taking the flight under false pretenses and suffered harm that “at a minimum exceeds $75,000.” The Washington Examiner reports that “DeSantis’s office shrugged off the suit as ‘opportunistic’ and countered that the flights to Martha’s Vineyard were done on a ‘voluntary basis’ to give ‘homeless, hungry, and abandoned’ immigrants a ‘fresh start in a sanctuary state.”

The class-action complaint says, “Defendants and their unidentified accomplices designed and executed a premeditated, fraudulent, and illegal scheme centered on exploiting this vulnerability for the sole purpose of advancing their own personal, financial and political interests.”

“Destitute, stranded, and immensely vulnerable, the individual Plaintiffs and class members were faced with an uncertain situation in an unfamiliar location. They were left in the dark, with nothing, on a tarmac on an island,” the suit continues.

In a statement obtained by the Washington Examiner, DeSantis’ office wrote:

“It is opportunistic that activists would use illegal immigrants for political theater. If these activists spent even a fraction of this time and effort at the border, perhaps some accountability would be brought to the Biden Administration’s reckless border policies that entice illegal immigrants to make dangerous and often lethal journeys.”

“It was disappointing that Martha’s Vineyard called in the Massachusetts National Guard to bus them away from the island within 48 hours,” the statement added.

DeSantis has also insisted the traveling migrants were given a packet of information and signed consent forms. “Millions of people since Biden has been president illegally coming across the southern border. Did they freak out about that? No,” DeSantis told Fox News’s Sean Hannity. “It’s only when 50 get put into Martha’s Vineyard, which wasn’t saying they didn’t want this. … They said they were a sanctuary jurisdiction.”

Immigration

Biden Administration to allow 40,000 asylum-seekers per month into US with mobile app

Published

3 days ago

June 6, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

Despite chaos at the border, the Biden administration is still pursuing expansion of a smart phone app which would allow nearly 40,000 asylum-seekers to enter the United States…per month.

“Starting in June, officials will allow more migrants waiting in Mexico to secure an appointment to enter the U.S. through a government phone app known as CBP One, which the Biden administration has transformed into the main gateway to the American asylum system” reports CBS News.

Department of Homeland Security Officials said border agents are preparing to distribute approximately 1,250 appointments per day, or 38,750 per month, to migrants in Mexico. They will then present themselves at ports of entry.

CBS News reports:

The CBP One app allows migrants north of Mexico City to request an appointment to appear at a southern border port of entry, where U.S. officials generally release them with an immigration court hearing in their respective destination. Migrants can fight their deportation in court by seeking asylum.

The app-powered system has been sharply criticized by migrant advocates, who say it penalizes the most destitute migrants who don’t have smartphones or an internet connection. They have also said the app does not allocate nearly enough spots to help the tens of thousands of migrants stranded in Mexico.

However, the app has facilitated “the largest expansion of migrant processing at ports of entry along the southern border in U.S. history” adds CBS News. “Since its use began in January, more than 120,000 migrants have secured appointments to enter the U.S. through CBP One, according to unpublished government figures.”

In addition to the CBP One process and the asylum restriction, the Biden Administration has begun allowing up to 30,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to fly to the U.S. directly per month if they have American sponsors. In just several months, that program received over 1.5 million applications.