© 2026 ABC News

Reporting on the ground this week painted a confusing and chaotic situation as local officials said they received no notice that the migrants were being transported. Massachusetts State Senator Julian Cyr told ABC News' Brad Mielke that one migrant he spoke to \"referred to a feeling of essentially being kidnapped.\"

Jean-Pierre cited reports from NPR and other outlets stating migrants thought they were being transported to other cities, not Martha's Vineyard or northwestern Washington.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has formally asked the Department of Justice to investigate whether DeSantis broke any criminal or civil violations of federal law.

Charlie Crist, Florida's Democratic nominee for governor, is filing a Sunshine Law request for all emails, texts and all forms of internal communication regarding DeSantis's decision to fly migrants to the island south of Cape Cod.

Jean-Pierre repeatedly deflected questions about a potential legal response from the administration, stating any decision would come from the Department of Justice -- which has yet to publicly comment on this issue.

\"PHOTO:
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
PHOTO: Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre holds the daily press briefing at the White House, Sept. 16, 2022.
>

DeSantis and Abbott both denied Friday that migrants were misled.

\"These are voluntary transportation that they're signing up for,\" DeSantis said. \"But they're given a good ride, they're given everything … What's not humane is what Biden is doing. He's false given a false promise that the borders open, luring people out here for political purposes, and then basically cutting these people loose and leaving them high and dry.\"

The White House has defended the administration's work on immigration challenges so far, stating they inherited a broken system from the Trump administration.

President Biden, speaking at a gala for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Thursday night, said his administration was dedicated to finding a solution but offered no concrete steps to further alleviate the situation.

\"We're committed to fixing the immigration system,\" Biden said. \"Instead of working with us on solutions, Republicans are playing politics with human beings, using them as props. What they're doing is simply wrong.\"

- ABC News' Miles Cohen, Quinn Owen and Armando Garcia contributed to this report.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Politics/desantis-white-house-trade-fire-migrant-drop-offs/story?id=90029613","legacySlug":"/news/story/desantis-white-house-trade-fire-migrant-drop-offs-90029613","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"21:20","publishDate":"09-16-2022","updatedTime":"16:14","updatedDate":"09-17-2022","socialImage":{"alt":"Gov. Ron DeSantis addresses attendees during the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit, July 22, 2022, in Tampa, Fla.","credit":"Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP, FILE","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/ron-desantis-file-ap-jef-220916_1663362061096_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"9/16/2022 21:20:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":90029613,"headline":"Political fallout over GOP's migrant drop-offs","mediaAssetTitle":"BIDEN/DESANTIS/MIGRANT FIGHT/FRIDAY","description":"Planes, buses carrying migrants were sent to Martha's Vineyard and Washington. ","duration":"1:37","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2022/09/220917_gma_schulze_809_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["132306053","132266872","132055565"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"April 23, 2026","headline":"Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","section":"News","slug":"/video/132306053","id":"132306053","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 22, 2026","headline":"Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","section":"News","slug":"/video/132266872","id":"132266872","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 15, 2026","headline":"American influencer found dead in Tanzania","section":"News","slug":"/video/132055565","id":"132055565","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: American influencer found dead in Tanzania","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: American influencer found dead in Tanzania","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Political fallout over GOP's migrant drop-offs","description":"Planes, buses carrying migrants were sent to Martha's Vineyard and Washington. ","duration":"1:37","uploadDate":"09-16-2022","publication":"09-16-2022","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2022/09/220917_gma_schulze_809_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2022/09/220917_gma_schulze_809_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/desantis-white-house-trade-fire-migrant-drop-offs-90029613"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Political fallout over GOP's migrant drop-offs","pubTime":"17:20","pubDate":"09-16-2022","modTime":"12:14","modDate":"09-17-2022","taxonomyTags":"none","id":90029613,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Political fallout over GOP's migrant drop-offs","mediaAssetTitle":"BIDEN/DESANTIS/MIGRANT FIGHT/FRIDAY","videoId":90029613,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/desantis-white-house-trade-fire-migrant-drop-offs-90029613"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/90029613","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/90029613","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};