Sen. Dick Durbin calls GOP governors 'pathetic' for making promises to migrant families to get them on buses

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Sen. Dick Durbin calls GOP governors 'pathetic' for making promises to migrant families to get them on buses
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, leads a hearing at the Capitol on August 3, 2022.J. Scott Applewhite/AP
  • Sen. Dick Durbin called GOP governors "pathetic" for relocating migrants to different states.
  • Governors DeSantis and Abbott have flown and bussed immigrants to northern states and Washington, DC.
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Sen. Dick Durbin said it's "pathetic" that Republican governors are making empty promises to migrants as they relocate them to different parts of the country.

It comes amid a wave of Democratic criticisms of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who have flown and bussed immigrants to northern states and Washington, DC as a political stunt.

Speaking with NBC's Chuck Todd on "Meet The Press," Durbin said he met with immigrants who had been relocated to Chicago.

"I met with the people who came off the buses. I sat down with one of the families, and they told me the story," Durbin said. "It is pathetic that these governors are taking advantage of these helpless people, making promises to them to get on the bus and life is just going to be fine, and off they go to places far removed from where they're supposed to be appearing under the requirements of our law in a matter of weeks and months."

Last week, 50 undocumented migrants arrived at Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts after DeSantis chartered two planes to transport them. Some migrants said a woman named "Perla" approached them, paid them $200, helped them get a hotel for the night, and led them to the chartered flights with promises of a better life, according to Reuters.

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Notable Democrats have slammed the governors' actions as a political stunt. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the move as "literally human trafficking."

On Sunday, Durbin, the Democratic Whip, said the GOP governors are jeopardizing migrants' stay in the US by relocating them.

"Why is it when the Republicans want to enforce their immigration theories it's always the kids that end up being the victims? We saw it with kids in cages. We saw it with the forcible removal of children from their parents, some who've never been reunited with their families," Durbin said. "And now, once again, it's the kids and families that are put on these buses and transported for political purposes across the United States."

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