Confusion ensues after reports of Florida sending planes of migrants to Delaware but no jet shows

Reports of a plane carrying migrants from Florida to President Joe Biden’s home state of Delaware on Tuesday created chaos and confusion when no flights arrived.  

Reports that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was sending a flight of undocumented migrants on a jet from Texas that was flying through Florida and then to Delaware surfaced on Monday evening, with additional stories circulating on Tuesday that the flight was going to land at the Delaware Coastal Airport, about 20 miles from Biden’s vacation home in Rehoboth Beach. 

Flight plans filed on Monday evening show that the plane was going to leave from San Antonio to Delaware, with a short stopover in Crestview Florida. 

On Tuesday, Delaware Governor John Carney’s spokesperson Emily David Hershman said the state was aware of the reports and was preparing to receive the migrants. The White House also said it was coordinating with state officials and local providers in Delaware to “welcome them in an orderly manner.”

State officials mobilized to prepare for the incoming arrivals. Community groups were prepared to offer support. Reporters and camera crews stood by at the airports to capture the moment the planes landed. 

Yet no planes and no migrants showed up. Some speculated either federal authorities may have intervened or the jet was a decoy and Florida officials had an alternate plan. 

"We have no reports of anyone arriving at this point," said Jill Fredel of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services after officials waited for hours for the plane to arrive at Delaware Coastal Airport in Sussex County.

Reporters and photographers from various news sources also confirmed that no planes took off from either Texas or Florida and no planes landed in Delaware. 

DeSantis, meanwhile, refused to confirm whether he had ordered migrants to be sent on the jet from Texas to Delaware. "I cannot confirm that," DeSantis said.

When asked by reporters about reports about DeSantis’ purported plan, Biden said, “He should come visit. We have a beautiful shoreline.”

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did not say how the administration heard of the latest flight plans but called DeSantis’ move a “political stunt.”

“Our heads up did not come from Gov. DeSantis because his only goal, as he's made it really quite clear, is to create chaos and using immigrants fleeing communism as political pawns,” said Jean-Pierre. “So it's about creating political theater for him. It's not about getting to a solution.”