FL Governor Threat Of Migrants Sent To Delaware A No Show: Reports

DELAWARE — Delaware officials prepared for the potential arrival of a group of migrants from Texas, a move that could be connected to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who last week sent an unannounced flight of Venezuelan migrants to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, according to reports.

But USA Today said late Tuesday that the immigrants never arrived in Delaware. State officials and community groups mobilized to help, but no plane arrived.

"We have no reports of anyone arriving at this point," said Jill Fredel of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services after officials waited for hours for the plane to arrive at Delaware Coastal Airport in Sussex County.

First reported by the Delaware News Journal, a separate report by Forbes said one of the private planes used by DeSantis to fly migrants to Martha's Vineyard was scheduled to leave San Antonio on Tuesday morning and stop in Crestview, Florida, before landing at Delaware Coastal Airport in Georgetown.

The information has led some to believe the flight might contain additional migrants bound for President Joe Biden's home state.

"Our teams are working with community organizations and other partners to make sure that migrants who arrive here have the support that they need," Gov. John Carney’s spokesperson, Emily David Hershman, told the Delaware News Journal.

Last week, Florida Gov. DeSantis had two planes of undocumented immigrants flown to Martha's Vineyard as part of his protest of the Biden administration's border policies. Officials on the exclusive island off Cape Cod were sent scrambling to find shelter for 50 migrants shipped in a move one Massachusetts elected official said was "depraved."

No one on Martha's Vineyard knew that the planes were coming, and local officials harshly criticized what DeSantis did.

RELATED: DeSantis Flies Undocumented Immigrants To Martha's Vineyard | MA National Guard Activated To Aid Martha's Vineyard Migrants

Massachusetts state Sen. Julian Cyr told The Vineyard Gazette that one plane originated in San Antonio. Flight tracking data shows a flight originated in San Antonio, stopped in Crestview, Florida, and Charlotte, North Carolina, before landing in Martha’s Vineyard.

A sheriff in Texas has since launched a criminal probe into the circumstances surrounding the move.

"They were promised work, promised solutions to several of their problems," Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar, a Democrat, said during a Monday news conference. "They were taken to Martha's Vineyard for little more than a photo op, a video op, and then unceremoniously stranded."

U.S. authorities are grappling with unusually large numbers of migrants crossing the border from Mexico amid rapidly changing demographics. The Biden administration on Monday said that people from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua accounted for more than one of three migrants stopped at the border in August.

Authorities stopped migrants 2.15 million times from October through August, the first time above 2 million during the government's fiscal year.

DeSantis' efforts are part of a larger attempt led by Republican governors to ship thousands of migrants to Democratic-led states to protest Biden’s immigration policies.

Roughly 7,500 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City from Texas and Arizona since the beginning of August, Patch previously reported. Last weekend, a second busload of migrants arrived at Vice President Kamala Harris' home in Washington, D.C., one of several sent by Abbott to the nation's capital.

Since April, Texas has bused about 8,000 migrants to Washington, 2,200 to New York and 300 to Chicago. Arizona bused more than 1,800 to Washington since May, while the city of El Paso, Texas, bused more than 1,100 to New York since Aug. 23.

Last week, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz from Texas tweeted that Rehoboth Beach, where President Biden owns a vacation home, would be a good destination for migrants. Cruz tagged both DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in the tweet.

According to flightradar24.com, Ultimate Air Shuttle flight UE11 was scheduled to arrive in Delaware around 1:30 p.m., but the flight's current status is unknown.

White House officials are also aware of the plane's possible arrival in Delaware, according to The Washington Post.

"Yes, we have received word of the flights. And yes, we are coordinating closely with state officials and local service providers who are prepared to welcome these families," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.