White House officials plan to meet Friday to explore legal options against Republican governors for moving migrants to Democrat cities.
The decision by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to send about 60 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard triggered White House officials already frustrated by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bussing migrants from the border to New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
It is unclear what the Biden administration can do to stop Republican governors, but officials are expected to discuss the issue on Friday morning, according to Axios.
NBC News reported there is “friction” between Biden White House officials and Department of Homeland Security officials about what to do with migrants flooding across the southern border.
DHS officials want to fly migrants to the northern border to ease pressures on the overburdened facilities in the south.
But the White House has stalled efforts to prepare for an organized way to transport migrants across the country.
California Gov. Gavin Newson (D) announced on social media that he would ask the Department of Justice to investigate DeSantis and Abbott, accusing them of “kidnapping.”
“Clearly, transporting families, including children, across state lines under false pretenses is morally reprehensible, but it may also be illegal,” he wrote.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre punted any questions about legal actions in response to Republican migrant transports to the Department of Justice, defending the existing “process” to handle migrants crossing into the United States.
“We have had a process in place,” she told reporters Thursday. “There’s a legal way of doing this and — for managing migrants.”
The number of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border is nearing 8,000 per day, according to DHS data shared with NBC and Axios.