Immigrant rights advocates calling out Gov. Ducey for migrants busing program
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Immigrant rights advocates are calling out Gov. Doug Ducey, saying he’s using migrants to score political points. Ducey started a program in May that sends migrants on charter buses from the Arizona-Mexico border to different East Coast cities. Ducey and other Republican governors say they’re doing migrants a favor by busing them while also sending a message to the federal government about the border crisis.
The group “Reunite Families Coalition” gathered at the Arizona Capitol on Thursday, calling on Ducey to stop treating migrants like political pawns. They also want more transparency from Ducey, including knowing where the governor is getting the money to bus the migrants who’ve been released from federal border custody. “The dehumanization of people needs to stop. Stop the dehumanization of people. Who are you or anybody else to say somebody is not a person deserving of dignity and respect? All of those immigrants and refugees and asylum seekers have moms,” said David Hernandez, Arizona state director of League of United Latin American Citizens.
Ducey, along with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has been busing migrants for the past several months, sending them to cities like New York City, Chicago and Washington D.C. However, leaders in those cities have expressed concerns about providing food and shelter to the families and kids who arrive.
The governor’s office provided a statement, saying all migrants bused out of the state are doing so willingly. In addition, an Arizona’s Family investigation revealed the state has spent $4 million busing thousands of people across the country.
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