Miami is experiencing a “migrant crisis” that is weighing down public schools and drawing police attention from crime-fighting, according to Mayor Francis Suarez, who says continued debate over the issue highlights the need for a country-wide fix.
Speaking with Face the Nation’s Margaret Brennan, Suarez said the local school district has received no federal funding to deal with the issue despite “14,000 new children” who fled other countries and enrolled last year in Miami-Dade Public Schools.
“That’s the equivalent of five new 2,000-student schools, and that’s a tremendous burden on our system,” he said. “I’m actually quite proud of Mayor (Eric) Adams from New York for standing up and talking about how this is impacting (his city). He has to focus on crime reduction, and instead you see images of police officers helping people into the classic Roosevelt Hotel find housing.
“These officers should be, and you’d want them to be, focused on reducing crime, and instead (they) have to deal with this migrant crisis, which … should be a federal issue.”
Asked for his thoughts on a law Ron DeSantis signed this month to clamp down on illegal immigration, Suarez — whose potential run for President would pit him against