Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez flew from an immigration rally in Texas to a ritzy $100,000-per-head fundraiser in Los Angeles on the private jet of a donor accused of discriminating against Latinos in a high-profile court battle involving the eviction of undocumented immigrants.
Perez attended an immigration rally in Brownsville, Texas, on June 28 at the site of a former Walmart that was turned into the largest immigrant detention center in the United States, the Intercept reported last Friday. "This is unconscionable," Perez said at the rally while he attacked the Trump administration over child detention centers. "I wanted to make sure we were down here because Democrats believe that families should be united with their children."
The publication notes that Perez went from the rally to the L.A. fundraiser that featured former President Barack Obama. Perez flew from the Texas border to Los Angeles on a private plane owned by Albert Dwoskin, a real-estate developer and major liberal donor.
A search of flight records shows Dwoskin's private plane—which has Model S Code of A6941C—flew from the U.S./Texas border on June 28 to Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles the same day a $5,194.74 in-kind travel contribution from Dwoskin was marked in Federal Election Commission records filed by the DNC.
Perez was photographed by the Daily Mail arriving with Dwoskin at the Beverly Hills fundraiser, which went for up to $100,000 per person and featured a performance by Christina Aguilera.
Dwoskin's property management firm, A.J. Dwoskin & Associates, is involved with litigation that has led to accusations of discrimination against Latinos over its eviction policy. The suit was initially filed in 2016 but was revived last month.
A.J. Dwoskin & Associates is additionally the registered agent of the private plane that Perez took from the rally to the fundraiser, Federal Aviation Administration records show.
Dwoskin’s firm is being sued by the families of undocumented immigrants who are attempting to block a mobile park in Northern Virginia from evicting residents who do not have a Social Security number. The Waples Mobile Home Park located in Fairfax County, Va., is operated by A.J. Dwoskin & Associates, which acts as the landlord.
The Legal Aid Justice Center, a Virginia-based nonprofit, argues that Dwoskin's eviction policy discriminates against Latino immigrants by targeting them over their immigration status. The center is attempting to get Dwoskin to scrap his policy and allow the undocumented immigrants to move back to the mobile park.
The DNC did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
Dwoskin donated $5,000 to the DNC in Dec. 2017 and added $28,705.26 to the committee on Sep. 20, filings show.
Dwoskin additionally contributed $17,500 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in March and has given to the campaigns of senators Jon Tester (D., Mont.), Bill Nelson (D., Fla.), and Tim Kaine (D., Va.). Rep. Jacky Rosen (D., Nev.), who is running for Senate in Nevada, and Scott Wallace, Democratic candidate in Pennsylvania's First Congressional District, have also received contributions from Dwoskin.
Dwoskin's family foundation has also supplied funding to an organization that has tied the use of vaccines to a rise of autism, the Daily Beast previously reported.
"In other words, they're vaccination skeptics. And the foundation is just one in a series of anti-vax projects that the wealthy couple bankrolls," they wrote.
Dwoskin's firm also did not respond to inquiries by press time.