Federal covid aid enabled Florida to pay for migrant flights

Fresno CA

Description

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) appears to have turned to an unexpected funding source to help pay for his plans to fly migrants to liberal-leaning communities: the interest earned on his state’s federal coronavirus aid. The funds came with few restrictions, but the U.S. government imposed virtually no rules on the interest generated on that money while it remained unspent. In Florida, the opening allowed local lawmakers to approve a spending blueprint that redirected money “from the interest earnings associated” with its federal stimulus allotment toward DeSantis’s immigration policies, sparking a broad outcry and renewed calls for a federal investigation. The situation marked the latest instance in which federal coronavirus aid appeared to enable Republicans’ immigration crackdowns — a far cry from what congressional lawmakers had envisioned when they reserved stimulus money for the states.