Republican governors are escalating their partisan strategy of sending migrants to Democratic strongholds without notice, including a wealthy summer enclave in Massachusetts and the home of Vice President Kamala Harris, in order to mock leaders of immigrant-friendly “sanctuary” cities and fuel opposition to Biden administration border policies.
In recent months, the governors of Texas and Arizona have transported thousands of migrants on buses to New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. The recent surprising measures, however, including two flights to Martha’s Vineyard paid for by Florida on Wednesday, reached a new level of political performance that some called brutal. When the migrants arrived to Martha’s Vineyard, where former President Barack Obama owns a house, they were given meals, lodging, health treatment, and advice on where to find job.
The tourist island south of Boston, whose year-round residents include many blue-collar employees, appeared to handle the dozens of visitors with ease.
Elizabeth Folcarelli, CEO of the non-profit Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, was closing up her day when she noticed 48 Venezuelans approaching her office with bags and backpacks. They were carrying red folders with pamphlets for her organisation.
“They were assured they’d have a job.” “And they’d have homes,” Folcarelli added, calling the search for shelter a “big task.”
On Thursday, migrants played soccer and hung around in small groups on the porch of their temporary shelter while meeting visiting attorneys who provided free advice and other service providers.
Donations were dropped out by well-wishers, and volunteers joined up to provide any assistance they could. There were no protest signs.
Domingo Garcia, head of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said that some of the migrants transported by bus from Texas to Washington, D.C. were “tricked,” an accusation that The Associated Press has not corroborated and that Texas and Arizona officials have disputed.
The flights to Martha’s Vineyard, according to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, are part of a plan to “transport illegal aliens to sanctuary places.” The Florida Legislature has set aside $12 million for the transportation of “unauthorised foreigners” out of the state.
When the migrants arrived to Martha’s Vineyard, where former President Barack Obama owns a house, they were given meals, lodging, health treatment, and advice on where to find job.
The tourist island south of Boston, whose year-round residents include many blue-collar employees, appeared to handle the dozens of visitors with ease.
Elizabeth Folcarelli, CEO of the non-profit Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, was closing up her day when she noticed 48 Venezuelans approaching her office with bags and backpacks. They were carrying red folders with pamphlets for her organisation.
“They were assured they’d have a job.” “And they’d have homes,” Folcarelli added, calling the search for shelter a “big task.”
On Thursday, migrants played soccer and hung around in small groups on the porch of their temporary shelter while meeting visiting attorneys who provided free advice and other service providers.
Donations were dropped out by well-wishers, and volunteers joined up to provide any assistance they could. There were no protest signs.
Domingo Garcia, head of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said that some of the migrants transported by bus from Texas to Washington, D.C. were “tricked,” an accusation that The Associated Press has not corroborated and that Texas and Arizona officials have disputed.
The flights to Martha’s Vineyard, according to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, are part of a plan to “transport illegal aliens to sanctuary places.” The Florida Legislature has set aside $12 million for the transportation of “unauthorised foreigners” out of the state.
DeSantis’ staff did not respond to inquiries regarding where migrants boarded aircraft or how they were persuaded to travel.
According to Massachusetts state Sen. Julian Cyr, one plane started in San Antonio, raising concerns about whether migrants ever stepped foot in Florida. According to flight tracking data, the trip began in San Antonio and stopped in Crestview, Florida, and Charlotte, North Carolina before landing on Martha’s Vineyard.
More than 100 migrants from Colombia, Cuba, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela boarded two buses from Texas that arrived early Thursday outside Harris’ apartment at the United States Naval Observatory.
“The Biden-Harris administration continues to ignore and deny the historic crisis at our southern border, which has endangered and overwhelmed Texas communities for nearly two years,” said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has made border security a signature issue by investing billions of taxpayer dollars.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who has publicly chastised DeSantis and Abbot for their conservative policies, urged the US Department of Justice on Thursday to examine whether moving migrants over state borders as “political props” violated the law.
“Transporting families, especially children, over state borders on false pretences is not only morally repugnant, but it may also be criminal,” Newsom said in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, which he also released on Twitter.
Without naming DeSantis or Abbot, Newsom said that the federal government may pursue the migrants with kidnapping and “civil rights conspiracy” since they were targeted because of their national origin.
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