Conservative group appeals to displaced Puerto Ricans with 'Welcome to Florida' classes ahead of the 2018 midterms
A conservative, Koch brothers-backed group is making overtures to Puerto Ricans who have recently moved to Florida, offering English-language and "Welcome to Florida" classes to the more than 300,000 islanders who have passed through the state since Hurricane Maria last year, The Washington Post reports. While the heads of the nonprofit Libre Institute claim it doesn't have a directly political motive — "We want people to make an educated decision for themselves," said deputy state director David Velasquez — the move comes just ahead of the 2018 midterms, drawing criticism from progressive organizations.
Democrats, for example, have been skeptical of the Libre Institute in the past, "accusing the group of skirting nonprofit laws by handing out ideological material; collecting names, email addresses, and phone numbers; and basically doing the early legwork that Republicans should otherwise be doing to win over new voters," the Post writes. The Libre Institute president, Daniel Garza, argued that the group in fact gives Puerto Ricans "the needed guidance and tools they're going to need to transition faster" while giving the institute "an opportunity … to educate them on the ideas that we feel make America strong — the principles of economic freedom."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why are election experts taking Trump’s midterm threats seriously?IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the president muses about polling place deployments and a centralized electoral system aimed at one-party control, lawmakers are taking this administration at its word
-
‘Restaurateurs have become millionaires’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Earth is rapidly approaching a ‘hothouse’ trajectory of warmingThe explainer It may become impossible to fix
-
NIH director Bhattacharya tapped as acting CDC headSpeed Read Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of the CDC’s Covid-19 response, will now lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
