12 OCT 2022

Hub Highlights: Advocates and Florida Latino Leaders Continue to Mount Push Against DeSantis and GOP For Cruel Political Stunt

WASHINGTON, DC – Governor Ron DeSantis’ (R-FL) recent stunt to lie, lure, and ship Venezuelan migrants to Martha's Vineyard continues to be met with stiff resistance, particularly in the sunshine state, as groups organized immediately to denounce his action. New series of attack ads against DeSantis and Republicans are holding them accountable for the governor’s cruel political stunts against asylum-seeking families. 

FLIC Votes Launches Six-Figure Ad Campaign Against DeSantis

The Florida-based immigration advocacy group, Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC) Votes launched a six-figure bilingual digital ad campaign last week featuring two ads slamming DeSantis for his dangerous and extreme anti-immigrant record, criticizing him for his most recent stunt. 

Swayable, a data platform that measures the impact of ads among registered voters, tested the FLIC Votes ad against the governor’s use of taxpayer dollars on the migrant flights. 

  • Overall, the ad increased unfavorability against DeSantis by 7 points among Florida voters. In fact, 55% of voters said that if the election were held today, they would vote for Democratic candidate Charlie Crist.

  • Among Independents, more than half (52%) opted for Crist.

  • Latino voters also shifted their vote to Crist by 9 points after viewing the ad, from 49% to 58%.

Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) flip-flopping on immigration is also a political loser. In another ad tested by Swayable, Florida voters viewed an ad that showed how Rubio went from immigration reform champ to the fringe right politician blocking citizenship for Dreamers and promising to end DACA.

  • After viewing the ad, 53% of Florida voters, including 51% of Independents, surveyed said they’d vote for Democratic candidate Val Demings over Rubio whose unfavorability increased by nearly 10 points.

  • The jump was even more dramatic with Latino voters: a 10-point increase for Demings (12-point drop for Rubio), with 58% of Latinos who said they’d vote for the congresswoman.

New Civiqs Survey Reveals Support for Asylum Seekers, Opposition to DeSantis Political Stunts

The Immigration Hub released the results of a new national survey, conducted by Civiqs, surveying registered voters across the country:

Key findings:

  • A new national survey conducted by Civiqs for The Immigration Hub finds broad, cross-partisan agreement that people who are fleeing Venezuela and other communist regimes to seek safety in the United States should be allowed to legally request protection.

  • This view is shared by 63% of Americans, support is highest among Democrats (86%), but a majority of Independents (57%), two-thirds (69%) of Hispanic voters and a plurality of Republicans (41%) also believe in allowing requests for protection in the U.S.

  • Additionally, the poll also found that a majority of Hispanic voters (65%) believe that the Republican governors of Florida and Texas who are busing and flying immigrants who are fleeing persecution are pulling a political stunt ahead of the November elections.

It’s no surprise that DeSantis’ continues to face backlash for using migrants as political pawns. Republicans across the country continue to distance themselves from DeSantis and some have denounced the governor for wasting money on a frivolous political stunt.

DeSantis, Rubio and Florida Republicans Turning Off Key Voters with Anti-Immigrant Positions

Florida Republicans have tried for years to win over the Venezuelan community, a quickly growing political force. With more than 100,000 registered Venezuelan voters in Florida— the fastest growing group of Latino voters in the state— this community has the potential to swing the pendulum this upcoming election. 

The latest desperate attempt from Republican candidates is already showing it will backfire this November. The Venezuelan community flexed its political muscle as leaders organized on the ground to slam DeSantis for his ugly political tactics immediately and it did not take long before they turned their attention to Rubio for supporting DeSantis disgusting stunt.

Isabel Vinent, co-executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, recently highlighted the hypocrisy of Marco Rubio in a Sun Sentinel op-ed, highlighting:

"Rubio loves to pontificate about political repression in Venezuela and the evils of communism, but when it comes to actually supporting people who leave those countries for the United States in search of a better life, he is not nowhere to be found"

Charlie Crist, Florida Democrats and Latino leaders continue to push back, modeling how to call out and counter bogus GOP attempts to distract and divide voters and lean in on common sense solutions to fix our broken immigration system. 

###

The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.