Ron DeSantis says Gavin Newsom and Biden want ‘open borders’ as he furiously denies backing immigration amnesty in Congress – and claims his Martha’s Vineyard migrant airlift exposed the hypocrisy of ‘liberal elites’

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis clashed with California Gov. Gavin Newsom over immigration and border issues during Thursday night’s debate, accusing the Democrat and President Joe Biden of supporting “open borders.”

During the debate moderated by Fox News host Sean Hannity, Newsom said DeSantis, while a member of Congress, “supported amnesty” for migrants who entered the country illegally.

“You supported John Boehner’s bill… You supported Obama’s efforts to push for comprehensive reform,” Newsom said, calling DeSantis “the last guy you want to talk to on immigration.”

DeSantis, who served as a U.S. House representative from 2013 to 2019 before running for governor, called the claim “false” and said he “killed John Boehner’s bill.”

“It’s deja vu again with this barrage of lies. This guy says the Biden administration is not lying to the public about the border,” the Republican said. “We know this is not true. Gavin Newsom is lying to you.

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis (left) clashed with California Gov. Gavin Newsom (right) over immigration and border issues in Thursday night’s debate.

Asked about Newsom’s remarks, a spokesman for the Democrat pointed DailyMail.com to Congressional Quarterly article showing that in 2014, DeSantis initially supported Boehner’s immigration measure, but later withdrew his support and voted “no.”

Newsom’s spokesman also cited DeSantis vote in 2018 in favor of HR 4760, saying it would “allow DACA recipients to apply for three-year renewable nonimmigrant legal status.”

This measure, also supported by a majority of Republicans, was not adopted because it did not receive support from Democrats.

During Thursday’s debate, Newsom also criticized DeSantis over his controversial move last year to fly dozens of migrants from the Texas border to Martha’s Vineyard and subsequent similar airlifts to California.

“Your immigration policy can best be summed up as a governor from the state of Florida coming to another state, Texas, lying to migrants, promising them jobs and housing, sending them to the island of Martha’s Vineyard, and then sending them to a parking lot in Sacramento, California.” , Newsom said.

“I met those migrants to whom you lied under false pretenses. A game like this, where people are used as pawns, I think is disqualifying,” the Democrat added.

“He’s the last guy standing on stage tonight talking about the issue of immigration reform,” Newsom concluded.

DeSantis responded: “Martha’s Vineyard said it was a sanctuary jurisdiction.”

September 2022: A Venezuelan migrant reacts to volunteers on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. DeSantis ferried 48 migrants from Texas to the island, leaving them stranded.

An aerial view of asylum-seeking migrants standing in line to be transported to a U.S. Border Patrol processing center on November 30, 2023 in Jacumba Hot Springs, California.

An Ecuadorian mother walks with her two daughters, ages 4 and 6, en route to a temporary camp where they await processing by the U.S. Border Patrol Thursday in California.

He compared the airlift to the infamous incident in which Newsom attended a birthday party at the upscale French Laundry restaurant while imposing strict pandemic restrictions on ordinary Californians.

“These liberal elites love to put burdens on you. They don’t want to face the consequences of their actions,” DeSantis said.

“So we have a lot of elites who want open borders, who lecture everyone else about it, but the minute they have to deal with any consequences, oh man, all hell breaks loose and they get upset.” he added.

The Fox News debate host called the 90-minute event the “Great Red State vs. Blue State Debate.”

It was held in a television studio without an audience in Georgia, a location chosen for its key implications for national politics regarding the swing state.

And it comes at the height of the presidential primary season, as voters in both parties are paying closer attention to their 2024 options ahead of next fall’s general election.

DeSantis, 45, is vying for the GOP presidential nomination but trails front-runner Donald Trump in the polls, a fact Newsom repeatedly emphasized during the debate.

The debate took place in a television studio without an audience in Georgia, a location chosen for its key implications for national policy regarding the swing state.

Newsom, the 56-year-old term-limited governor of California, has made it his goal to someday run for the Democratic presidential nomination.

But like the rest of his party’s most ambitious leaders, he has declined to challenge Biden for the 2024 nomination.

Instead, he became Biden’s leading advocate and official campaign adviser.

He accepted the role Thursday night after DeSantis said he was “aligning himself with Biden and (Vice President Kamala) Harris.”

The Florida governor later said Biden, 80, was “in decline” and posed a “danger to the country.”

“I’m proud of the job that Biden and Harris have done,” Newsom said as he reviewed unemployment statistics. “I’ll take Joe Biden at 100 over Ron DeSantis any day of the week at any age.”