Florida, too, was: : A Jussie Smollett production

[see my note at end]

In <v28j1b$2ch4d$4@dont-email.me> "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> writes:

I have no idea if the Osundairo brothers auditioned for these parts.

Foreign nationals who are crime victims and witnesses to crime qualify
for visas to prevent them from being deported as their testimony is
needed for trial. This is a U-visa.

Charges against six, er, actors have been filed in federal court. They
were staging armed robberies -- hiring actors and everything -- so that
the illegal alien "witnesses" could be issued U-visas.

The conspiracy also took place in Tennessee.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/05/17/6-charged-in-conspiracy-to-stage-armed-robberies-to-qualify-for-u-s-visas-for-crime-victims/

Hey, everyone, remember how Goc. DeSantis [R-FL] flew those foreign
migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard?

Well....

[Bloomberg]

DeSantis' Immigration Stunt Didn't Go Entirely as Planned

The Florida governor tried to exploit the migrants for political gain.
Instead, he bought them more time in the US.

Whatever happened to the 49 migrants who were flown from Texas to
Martha's Vineyard by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in 2022? Pawns
in an elaborate scheme to elevate the anti-immigrant bonafides
of the ambitious governor, it seemed as if they had landed among
the forgotten souls sidelined by the media's short memory.

But last month, in what may go down as one of the greatest ironies
of political theater in
recent memory, the US government quietly gave eight of them special
legal protection. The rest are expected to get it soon.
   ....
The reason for the special treatment: DeSantis' team may have
committed a crime when it lured the migrants to the isolated
island. The finding, made by a Texas sheriff after a nine-month
investigation last year, made the migrants eligible for
special U visas issued by US Citizenship and Immigration Services
that protect them from deportation and allow them to work in
the US legally.

So, here's where we are: A governor used taxpayer money to exploit
vulnerable people for political gain, and the victims instead ended
up receiving enhanced legal protections.
      =====
rest:
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-05-17/migrants-desantis-sent-to-martha-s-vineyard-granted-special-status

--
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Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
     dannyb@panix.com
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