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Gov. Charlie Baker criticized national Republicans and Democrats Monday, who he said have used a group of Venezuelan migrants sent to Marthas Vineyard earlier this month to score political points.

A group of 50 migrants unexpectedly landed on the island nearly two weeks ago at the behest of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who quickly claimed credit for flying them from San Antonio, Texas, to Massachusetts. It was a move that renewed a national conversation over immigration policy, outraged locals, and touched off a lawsuit filed in federal court in Boston.

Baker said he has watched national Republicans and Democrats who are jockeying to run for president tee off on each other, a situation he said does not help solve the problem of immigration reform.

What we really need is immigration reform in this country, Baker said on GBHs Boston Public Radio. Ive been saying this for over 10 years, and it means that both Republicans and Democrats would have to compromise, and they would probably lose some edge that they might currently have with this issue. But the vast majority of the country would like to have this issue dealt with. And I think the way its being dealt with now gets us nowhere.

Baker, who has decided not to run for reelection and is now a lame-duck governor, also backed off criticizing DeSantis for the move, which some Democrats on Beacon Hill have described as a political stunt.

Im not running for president, he said. So why engage in what is obviously a presidential debate.

The migrants, many of whom had crossed thousands of miles before ending up Texas, were shuttled off Marthas Vineyard after spending two nights in a local church. Officials on the island scrambled to provide immediate shelter, food, medical services and legal assistance when they first arrived on two private jets.

The Baker administration moved the group to Joint Base Cape Cod, and in the weeks since, a debate over proper immigration policies, challenges communities face at the southern border, and how unauthorized immigrants should be dealt with has ensued.

Boston-based legal firm Lawyers for Civil Rights also filed a lawsuit in federal court last week where they are asking a judge to prohibit DeSantis from transporting migrants across the county. The suit alleges the Florida governor violated the Constitutional rights of the migrants, as well as other federal laws.

DeSantis Communications Director Taryn Fenske said in a statement that it is opportunistic that activists would use illegal immigrants for political theater.

If these activists spent even a fraction of this time and effort at the border, perhaps some accountability would be brought to the Biden Administrations reckless border policies that entice illegal immigrants to make dangerous and often lethal journeys through Central America and put their lives in the hands of cartels and Coyotes, Fenske said in a statement.

Baker said many of the migrants left Texas before they were processed by immigration officials.

One of the reasons why theres been a lot of activity with the attorneys is to actually clean up a lot of the work that normally would have happened when they were in Texas, he said, adding some of the migrants have already left Massachusetts to stay with friends and family.

Florida public records show the DeSantis administration paid out a total of $1.5 million to Vertol Systems Company Inc. for a relocation program of unauthorized aliens, including $615,000 a week before the migrants landed in Massachusetts and $950,000 the day after they arrived.

Top Democrats in Florida have asked their House speaker and budget chief to formally object to the spending, which they argue is contrary to a $12 million program the states Legislature authorized over the summer to send unauthorized aliens out of state.

Baker said immigration policy in the United States should be enforceable.

Canada, many other countries that we consider to be sort of moderate on this issue, have figured it out, he said. Theres no reason why we cant if we want to.

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Bluster over migrants sent to Mass. impeding immigration reform, Baker says - MassLive.com