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."
Subscribe to 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.
-
What to know before lending money to family or friendsthe explainer Ensure both your relationship and your finances remain intact
-
A running list of Trump's second-term national security controversiesIn Depth Several scandals surrounding national security have rocked the Trump administration
-
The tobacco industry could be the beneficiary of health agency cutsThe explainer Anti-tobacco initiatives could be up in smoke
-
Biden slams Trump's Social Security cutsSpeed Read In his first major public address since leaving office, Biden criticized the Trump administration's 'damage' and 'destruction'
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deporteeSpeed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
-
Trump says electronics tariff break won't lastSpeed Read The tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices are temporary, the administration says
-
Man charged in arson attack on Pennsylvania's ShapiroSpeed Read Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping when someone set fire to his Harrisburg mansion
-
White House pushes for oversight of Columbia UniversitySpeed Read The Trump administration is considering placing the school under a consent decree
-
Supreme Court backs wrongly deported migrantSpeed Read The Trump administration must 'facilitate' the return of wrongfully deported migrant Kilmar Ábrego García from El Salvador, Supreme Court says
-
Two judges bar war-powers deportationsSpeed Read The Trump administration was blocked from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport more alleged Venezuelan gang members
-
Trump pauses some tariffs but ramps up China taxSpeed Read The president suspended most 'reciprocal' tariffs for 90 days and raised his tariffs for China to 125%
