Trump Plans to Ship Thousands of Migrants to South Florida from Detention Centers

According to local officials in South Florida on Thursday, President Trump has decided to relocate thousands of displaced migrants from overcrowded detention centers and camps along the U.S. border to Broward and Palm Beach counties.

The alarming number of immigrants expected to come to Southern Florida has caused concern for the leaders of these areas. Approximately 1,000 migrants will be flown in every month to alleviate the increasing number of people entering at the Mexican border at a cost of $6,000 for each flight. The Trump administration did not give local officials any plans on designating shelters nor any funding to house them, feed them, and maintain their safety.

According to Broward County Mayor Mark Bogen and Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, the migrants coming to Florida would be split between the two counties. It appears that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, members of Congress, and the state’s two Republican senators were blindsided by the announcement.

Related Story: Trump Administration to Begin Sending Asylum Seekers to Mexico on Friday

It is important to note that Florida is not a sanctuary state. In April, The Washington Post detailed that President Trump wanted to implement a plan to send migrants and undocumented immigrants to sanctuary cities in an effort to castigate those local governments for supporting immigrants coming into the country- basically by failing to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). State senators passed legislation in late April to outlaw sanctuary cities in Florida.

Palm Beach and Broward Counties are the most liberal counties in the state so perhaps it is Trump’s way of punishing them for not supporting his reelection hopes for the 2020 Presidential election. It’s tough to say.

Mayor Mark Bogen has spoken out against the seemingly cruel action stating, “This is a humanitarian crisis. We will do everything possible to help these people. If the president will not provide us with financial assistance to house and feed these people, he will be creating a homeless encampment.”

U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL.), who represents south Broward County, blasted Trump’s new mandate by saying it was an “attempt to manufacture crises in our communities and drain already strained resources.”

“The Trump administration’s alleged proposal to send hundreds of migrants monthly to Broward and Palm Beach counties without any arrangements for their care and safety is a cynical ploy that, if enacted, he hopes will sway the American public to side with him on how to best handle this divisive issue,” Wilson said in a media statement. “It also is another example of how little regard this president has for people from certain racial and ethnic demographics.”

 

Related

Trending Now

Follow us

Most Popular

Join Our Newsletter

Get the top workplace fairness news delivered straight to your inbox