Republican Governor Sends Immigrants to Vice President Harris’ Home

TITLE: Republican governors send migrants to the house of Vice President Harris

SLUG: USA MIGRATION

DATE: SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

AUTHOR: IACOPO LUZI

LOCATION: WASHINGTON DC

VIDEO SOURCE: REUTERS, AP, ABC, TWITTER, VOA

DURATION: 02:53

((ENTER))

Two buses took migrants to the Naval Observatory, the residence of Vice President Kamala Harris. It is another of the transfers ordered by the governor of Texas to protest against the immigration policy of the Biden government. Meanwhile, the governor of Florida did the same by sending migrants to Massachusetts. Iacopo Luzi has the news.

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((STORYTELLER))

The political battle continues between some Republican governors and the Biden administration over the management of the US border, defined by Republicans as too open.

In fact, this Thursday morning, two buses with more than 70 migrants from Del Rio, Texas, left their passengers in front of the residence of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Naval Observatory in Washington DC as a form of protest by the governor. Texan Greg Abbott.

((SOT: David Morales, Venezuelan migrant))

ENG: “They left us adrift here not knowing where to go. Our destiny is to reach New York.”

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The group included migrants from Venezuela, Uruguay, Colombia and Mexico who were quickly helped by volunteers and taken to a church near the capitol.

Several migrants, according to Fox News, said they believe the border is open, contrary to what Vice President Harris said during an interview on Sunday.

((NAT SOUND: Harris saying: “the border is secure”))

((NAT SOUND: migrant saying: “Open border, no closed”))

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There was no notification that these buses would arrive at the Naval Observatory. They usually arrive at the DC train station. It is unknown if more migrants will arrive in front of Kamala Harris’ house in the coming days. But the volunteers say they are prepared to deal with the flow of migrants to the Capital.

((SOT: Tatiana Laborde, SAMU First Response General Director))

ESP: “We already have the resources to respond. The only thing is days like today where they reach other areas and we have to mobilize to support them.”

((STORYTELLER))

This latest bus convoy came just hours after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made good on a similar promise to transport undocumented migrants to states run by Democrats. He sent two planes full of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, an island in Massachusetts.

((SOT: Ron De Santis, Governor of Florida))

((ENG: “We’re not a sanctuary state. We don’t have benefits or any of that. There are some sanctuary jurisdictions, and that would be better. Now, what would be the best is for Biden to do his damn job and secure the border.”

ESP: “We’re not a sanctuary state. We don’t have benefits or anything like that. There are some sanctuary jurisdictions, and that would be better. Now, what would be better is for Biden to do his damn job and secure the border.”

((STORYTELLER))

Abbott and Desantis argue that the US border is out of control and that authorities in DC and New York must face the realities of the border crisis. The White House defined the actions of the two governors as crude.

((SOT: Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Spokesperson))

((ENG: “It’s a fundamental long term issue. It is a broken system. But we are also doing the work. And, you know, I have to say the work that, what we’re seeing Republicans doing, elected officials using migrants as a pawn is not the way to move forward on this.”))

ESP: “It is a fundamental issue in the long term. It is a broken system. But we are also doing the work. And I have to say that the work that we’re seeing being done by Republicans, by elected officials using immigrants as a pawn, is not the way to move this forward.”

((STAND-UP: Iacopo Luzi, Voice of America))

Democrats like Illinois Gov. Jay Robert Pritzker describe the Republican moves as simply a political ploy. And Lulac, the largest Hispanic civil rights organization in the United States, said it will seek to prevent migrants from boarding buses there at the border.

From the Naval Observatory, Washington, Iacopo Luzi, Voice of America.