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About 1,700 people in Arizona voted in 2018 with a federal-only ballot. Two years later, the number grew to 11,600 individuals.
Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) disparaged Republican governors on Tuesday for busing migrants away from the southern border.
But several sources, including a pro-migrant organization, undercut his narrative about those migrants who were bused to Vice President Kamala Harris' residence on Christmas Eve.
Speaking on MSNBC, Castro was asked to deliver a message to Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis, Doug Ducey, and Greg Abbott.
His response? Stop being "pricks" and "heartless."
"I would ask them to stop being pricks, first of all, because that’s what they’re doing," Castro said. "And stop being heartless, but also to actually help us solve this issue, solve this challenge rather than just become the next Republican president in a few years."
Castro also claimed that Republican governors are "just trying to be mean" and "demonstrate how tough they are" by busing migrants.
The specific incident that precipitated Castro's comments was the busloads of migrants who were dropped off outside the Naval Observatory, the official residence of the vice president, on Christmas Eve.
GOP Governors With Presidential Ambitions Court Trump's Base With Cruelty To Migrantswww.youtube.com
Other than reaffirming the Democratic narrative about Republican governors, Castro did not offer any evidence to back his claim that DeSantis, Ducey, and Abbott are being "heartless."
On the other hand, people with direct involvement with migrant transportation say the migrants themselves agree to the transportation because it gets them closer to their final destination, often cities far from the border in which they have family and friends.
For example, the Val Verde Border Humanitarian Coalition, a nonprofit organization that helps migrants, called the Christmas Eve drop-off at Harris' residence "a Christmas to remember." Why? Because it actually served the migrants, who were "grateful" for the ride.
"On this Christmas Eve, our dedicated NGO partners in Washington DC received three Texas State Buses on this bitterly cold night," the group wrote on Facebook. "Migrants left VVBHC yesterday and are exhausted, but also grateful to be much closer to their final destinations along the East Coast. Definitely a Christmas to remember for all involved."
Indeed, Abbott spokesperson Renae Eze confirmed the migrants traveled "willingly."
"These migrants willingly chose to go to Washington, D.C., having signed a voluntary consent waiver available in multiple languages upon boarding that they agreed on the destination," Eze said. "And they were processed and released by the federal government, who are dumping them at historic levels in Texas border towns like El Paso, which recently declared a state of emergency because of the Biden-made crisis."