Migrants Transported to Martha's Vineyard and Naval Observatory in Protest of Record Border Crossings
Governors Abbott and DeSantis bused and flew migrants to the Vice President's DC residence and Martha's Vineyard in an escalation of the Republican outcry against Biden's border policies.
Massachusetts authorities announced Friday that they will move approximately 50 migrants from the island of Martha’s Vineyard to a military base in Cape Cod so they can find shelter and chart next steps, reports the Washington Post. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) surprised federal and state officials on Wednesday by sending migrants who recently crossed the U.S.-Mexico border to the affluent resort island.
Excerpt from the Washington Post: The move is part of an ongoing campaign by DeSantis and other Republican governors in Texas and Arizona to send migrants to Democrat-heavy cities such as Washington, New York and Chicago to publicize soaring numbers of crossings this year on the southern border. The unexpected arrivals are catching locals off guard and sending them scrambling to find supplies and shelter for the newcomers. Many of the migrants are from Venezuela, a South American nation that has been engulfed in a political and economic crisis, with shortages of food, water and electricity. Republicans defended the action, saying border cities were experiencing influxes in even greater numbers. Federal border agents have made nearly 2 million apprehensions on the southern border this fiscal year, exceeding last year’s total.
According to Axios, church leaders, housing advocates, government officials and residents on Martha’s Vineyard have come together to provide shelter, food, clothing and other items for the migrants, but the island lacks the resources to support the group long-term.
Excerpt from Axios: The migrants had been staying at a church in Edgarton. Massachusetts is dedicating housing, health care and other resources at Joint Base Cape Cod to the group who arrived, many without knowing they would end up on an island some 90 miles south of Boston. "While Wednesday’s arrival on Martha’s Vineyard was unexpected, the extraordinary response was not," said Public Safety and Security Secretary Terrence Reidy in a statement. "The work of so many state and local partners exemplify the best values of our commonwealth, providing safe shelter, food and care for individuals that had been through a long harrowing journey."
In a related story, Governor Greg Abbott’s state-funded program to bus migrants to cities run by Democrats reached a national fever pitch on Thursday, with buses dropping people off outside of Vice President Kamala Harris’ D.C. residence, writes the Texas Tribune.
Excerpt from Texas Tribune: What started in the spring as a publicity stunt to draw the attention of the White House has caught fire, with other Republican officials in Arizona and Florida following suit. Texas has ramped up its own busing efforts, sending more migrants to other Democrat-run metropolitan areas where local officials say their social services are being pushed to the limits. Abbott gleefully took credit for sending between 75 and 100 migrants to the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., where Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff reside. The move was in apparent retaliation for her comments on NBC’s "Meet the Press" in which she called the border "secure," stoking conservative anger nationwide. The latest moves by Abbott and DeSantis this week have triggered outrage among immigration rights’ groups and Democrats who have accused the Republicans of engaging in human trafficking and treating migrants like "human cargo" to score political points.
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