'The stunt wasn’t even original': Ron DeSantis faces criticism for deceiving groups of relocated migrants

Democratic leaders and lawmakers are not pleased with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R) alleged deception of approximately 50 migrants.

According to HuffPost, the Republican governor is said to have deceived the migrants by putting them on a plane that they didn't know would arrive at Martha's Vineyard.

The latest debacle began on Wednesday, September 14 when DeSantis "took credit for sending two planes packed with migrants from Venezuela and Colombia to the Massachusetts island." The news outlet also reported: "He and other Republican governors hope to use the relocation of migrants out of their states as a way to drum up attention to the White House’s immigration policies."

READ MORE: Ron DeSantis' 'reckless decision' to bus migrants to Martha's Vineyard may be 'kidnapping': legal experts

The flights, which were said to be funded by a state program, "started in San Antonio and made stops in Florida and the Carolinas before arriving in Martha’s Vineyard," the outlet reported.

However, the migrants shared a different perspective on the situation. The news outlet notes that "the migrants told the radio network that a woman who called herself 'Perla' persuaded them to get on the plane and said they’d receive expedited work papers when they arrived in Boston."

Now, Democrats are slamming the governor's actions describing the whole plot as nothing more than a publicity stunt.

″[DeSantis sent the migrants] so he could use it for his own advantage and then his paid-for political spokesperson was immediately taking credit, if you want to call it credit, for doing something that was clearly a political stunt,” said Rep. Bill Keating (D-Mass.).

READ MORE: 'This is a new low': Ron DeSantis faces blowback after 'trafficking' migrants to Martha’s Vineyard

Per HuffPost, Keating also said, "the stunt wasn’t even original and referred to legislation introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) last year that aimed to send migrants to new ports of entry, such as Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard."

“This is clearly what it was, it’s quite transparent, it’s quite obvious and for Florida taxpayers, [it’s] extravagant, just for [DeSantis’] own political end.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also condemned DeSantis' actions. “Republican governors...," Jean-Pierre said, "using migrants as political pawns is shameful, it’s reckless and just plain wrong."

Watch Keating's remarks below or at this link.

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