We are used to seeing undocumented immigrants on the news, filmed huddling under shelters along the U.S. southern borders, and we’re used to hearing about them from feuding politicians who give “hot takes” on recent tragedies to mark their vote counts up a notch. Undocumented immigrants are given many faces on the national stage, but they are rarely seen as human.

When Gov. Ron Desantis’ administration paid Vetrol Systems Company $165,000 to transport immigrants from Texas to Massachusetts on Sept. 25, that fact rang true.

As an outspoken opponent to the Biden administration and its motion to appeal COVID-19 border restrictions in May, DeSantis has used countless tactics to target their policies, including Executive Order 21-223, which he issued in July 2021 to directly counteract the Biden administration’s open-border practice, prohibiting families from providing shelter to undocumented children and discouraging Florida agencies from assisting the Department of Homeland Security in the transport of illegal immigrants. 

But recently, DeSantis’ attacks have gone beyond policymaking, bearing resemblance to careless popularity stunts. In transporting immigrants from Texas to Massachusetts with no means of shelter and little warning, then chalking the incident off as a personal victory, he shows his belief that immigrants’ lives are insignificant in contrast to his approval rates. And as DeSantis is only one of three Republican governors who have recently authorized the transportation of immigrants to northern, Democratic states, his actions do not come from genuine concern, but are only a part of a political catfight that immigrants are in the middle of.

It should go without saying that someone’s origins should not dictate how they are treated, but somehow, politicians always find a way to waive those morals when it comes to immigrants. These men, women and children are already frequently written off as criminals, freeloaders, rapists and drug dealers and now they’re being shipped around the country like monopoly tokens. If DeSantis wants to spite the Biden administration, it shouldn’t be at the expense of human lives. 

As voters, it’s important that Americans recognize when politicians’ actions are solving the problem or simply adding fuel to the fire. Anti-immigration sentiment has nestled itself into the heart of Florida politics. Politicians who use immigrants’ lives to further their own agenda need to remember one thing: immigrants are not props. They are people.