Faith and Values: Ron DeSantis migrant flights recall experience of Native Americans on Trail of Tears

It is an outrageous political stunt.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis chartering planes to fly immigrants who had just crossed the U.S border from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard and other locations described as “sanctuary states.”

If he had asked the immigrants’ permission to fly them, or if he had asked the permission of the governors of those states to fly them there, this might be a different matter. But he told the people they were going to new jobs. He also reportedly enticed hungry immigrants onboard with $10 McDonald’s coupons.

At best, this is a crass political stunt. At worst, it is human trafficking because he is moving people from one place to another without their ability to decline the offer. It is, in short, an exercise in power by DeSantis, who is rumored to be considering a presidential campaign.

In response, authorities in Massachusetts along with several human rights groups are seeking human-trafficking charges against DeSantis, and members of the Florida Legislature have filed suit to stop the flights.

Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey are complicit with DeSantis in this scheme designed to draw attention to the thousands of people seeking to enter the U.S. DeSantis claims the “sanctuary cities” within states such as Massachusetts, California, Illinois and New York are “better equipped” to handle the masses. DeSantis has organized $12 million in state funds designed to move newly arrived people from border communities to places including Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Chicago and Martha’s Vineyard. Abbott has bused new immigrants to northern states.

Migrants transported to Martha’s Vineyard recently filed a class -action lawsuit saying they were misled with offers of food, jobs, housing and help with the immigration process, none of which were true.

CNN has identified the woman who allegedly helped to arrange the migrant flights out of Texas as Perla Huerta, a former military counterintelligence agent and combat medic specialist. The New York Times said immigrants have identified Huerta as the person who convinced them to get on the planes, and they disagree with DeSantis’ statement that the flights were “voluntary.”

What is ignored in all this is the reason so many immigrants are now trying to cross the border: For years they were made to wait in place in Mexico by the former administration. The pent-up frustration is palpable among the people who have been waiting for a chance at a better life.

Yes, people are upset with the overwhelming number of potential immigrants trying to enter the U.S., but this kind of stunt is not needed.

What amazes me the most is people like DeSantis, Abbott, Ducey and those who are applauding and laughing at this move claim to be Christian, yet the actions are anything but Christ-like. Maybe this is why so many people are now turning away from Christianity because in this country it is becoming a cruel justification for whatever the “believer” wants to see happen. Many see this type of action as just mean-spirited.

As a Native American, I must wonder what these same people would feel if it was someone in their immediate family who was treated this way? In my family, there are plenty of stories of how the U.S. military came into our homes and forced us to move to a strange place through the Trail of Tears. We were torn from our homes, our jobs, our sacred places, so other people could have our land.

An award-winning journalist and public relations professional, Rebecca “Becky” Tallent was a journalism faculty member at the University of Idaho for 13 years before her retirement in 2019. She is of Cherokee descent and is a member of the Native American Journalists Association and the Society of Professional Journalists. She and her husband, Roger Saunders, live in Moscow, Idaho, with their two cats.