MSNBC keeps making false claims about "kidnapping" migrants

Indeed, kidnapping “is a thing,” just not this thing.

As noted in a column this weekend, this claim was also made by Gov. Gavin Newsom. It is legally absurd. Kidnapping requires that the culprit “unlawfully seizes, confines, inveigles, decoys, kidnaps, abducts, or carries away and holds for ransom or reward or otherwise any person.” There is nothing unlawful in conveying individuals who are lawfully in the country pending their immigration hearings; the trips are voluntary, and most migrants appear eager to accept free passage to cities like New York or Chicago.

Mystal also analogized the migrants to teenagers: “Imagine Ron DeSantis goes up to a group of white teenagers, offers them some candy and says, ‘Hey, I’m gonna take you to Disney World if you get in my van.’ And then Ron DeSantis drives them to Bush Gardens.” Such analogies are insulting to adults who elect to accept free transport to cities like Chicago or New York. These are vulnerable individuals but these trips are only being offered to adults to decide if they want to take advantage of the free transportation.

It is reminiscent of the recently deleted tweet by NBC analogizing migrants to “trash.” The trash analogy seems far worse but the suggestion that these migrants are like minors or teens being lured by candy is pretty insulting. These are adults who are clearly in desperate situations but they are not like children or teenagers unable to decide whether to remain near the border or accept a flight to another city.