Martha's Vineyard residents HIT THE ROOF as Gov. DeSantis flies in 50 Venezuelan illegal immigrants to the affluent liberal enclave in stunning move straight out of Texas Governor Abbott's playbook
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/09/15/05/62427529-0-image-a-63_1663214832303.jpg)
- Martha's Vineyard residents are reeling after a two planeloads of migrants landed on the wealthy island
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed that he was responsible for sending the roughly 50 migrants
- On Wednesday night, a church in Edgartown set up cots to provide emergency temporary shelter
- It marks a dramatic escalation of a campaign by Republican governors to relocate illegal immigrants
- Martha's Vineyard residents and officials slammed the move as an 'evil and inhumane' political ploy
- Florida's 2022 budget allowed $12 million of taxpayer money to go towards sending migrants out of the state
- It follows similar moves from the GOP governors of Texas and Arizona to relocate migrants to liberal areas
Martha's Vineyard residents are reeling after two planeloads of migrants landed on the wealthy Massachusetts island, in a dramatic escalation of a campaign by Republican governors to shift the impact of the border crisis to Democratic areas.
The move by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to send roughly 50 migrants, mostly from Venezuela, to the island came as a surprise in the affluent community - where prominent liberals such as the Obamas, Oprah Winfrey and Larry David all have homes.
Following their arrival on Wednesday, the migrants stayed overnight at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Edgartown, which provided emergency shelter by clearing out the parish hall and setting up cots.
The small downtown parish is located on a quiet tree-lined street and nestled between multi-million homes, with one five-bedroom house next door currently listed for sale at $3.95 million, and another sold last year for $4.6 million.
St. Andrew's is also just over three miles away from the Obama family's $11.75 million vacation compound, which is situated on the coastal outskirts of Edgartown.
Martha's Vineyard residents and local officials have been quick to voice outrage at DeSantis and other GOP governors for their migrant transplant programs, with state Rep. Dylan Fernandes calling the move 'evil and inhumane'.
'Republicans who call themselves Christians have been plotting for some time to use human lives - men, women, and children - as a political pawns,' he said in a tweet.
'They look at us as rich, liberal enclaves,' said the Democrat, whose district includes all of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, in remarks to the Boston Globe.
Related Articles
'Our island jumped into action putting together 50 beds, giving everyone a good meal, providing a play area for the children, making sure people have the healthcare and support they need,' Fernandes added in a tweet. 'We are a community that comes together to support immigrants.'
It follows similar moves from other GOP governors. Texas Governor Greg Abbott began busing thousands of migrants to Washington in April and recently added New York and Chicago as destinations.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey has been busing migrants to Washington since May. The states say that passengers must sign waivers that the free trips are voluntary.
In Massachusetts, pictures published by the Martha's Vineyard Gazette and the Martha's Vineyard Times showed the migrants in the affluent community, where they were first fed in the cafeteria at the local high school before being transported to the church for shelter.
In a statement, DeSantis' office said: 'Yes, Florida can confirm the two planes with illegal immigrants that arrived in Martha's Vineyard today were part of the state's relocation program to transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary destinations.'
The remarks continued: 'States like Massachusetts, New York, and California will better facilitate the care of these individuals who they have invited into our country by incentivizing illegal immigration through their designation as 'sanctuary states' and support for the Biden Administration's open border policies.'
Related Articles
The press release went on: 'As you may know, in this past legislative session the Florida Legislature appropriated $12 million to implement a program to facilitate the transport of illegal immigrants from this state consistent with federal law.'
The name of the charter that brought the migrants to the millionaires playground was Ultra Air Charters, reports the Martha's Vineyard Times.
At least one member of the migrants told the newspaper that he didn't know where he was.
Town administrator Jennifer Rand was quoted by the newspaper as saying that she heard 'Texas, Florida and Alabama have begun flying planes with immigrants to Martha's Vineyard and dropping them off and leaving.'
On Wednesday evening, Fox News aired footage apparently showing the migrants arriving in the town. The footage was played during a segment on Jesse Watters Primetime where former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was a guest.
Pompeo joked about how the town's wealthy liberals might react to the migrants saying: 'These are all sanctuary cities until they're in their sanctuary. I doubt they will embrace them.'
Eliase, an immigrant from Venezuela, told the Vineyard Gazette: 'We're immigrants. We came here because of the situation in our country, for the economy, for work, for lots of things. I came here walking. We went through 10 different countries until we got to Texas.'
He added: 'There a refugee association put us in a plane and told us there would be work and housing here. I feel good, despite everything. We spent four days in Texas so it's good to be here.'
Online flight records show that two planes left San Antonio, Texas, on the morning of September 14, stopped in Florida, before landing in Martha's Vineyard.
State Senator Julian Cyr tweeted on Wednesday's night: 'Developing situation on #MarthasVineyard where migrants arrived via charter flight from TX this afternoon. Islanders working hard to provide food + shelter.'
Cyr later told the Vineyard Gazette: 'Just like the reverse freedom rides in the 1960s, this endeavor is a cruel ruse that is manipulating families who are seeking a better life.'
The state lawmaker was referring to a ploy used in the civil rights era by Southern segregationists, who would falsely promise black families houses and jobs in the north, and drop them off in a wealthy Northern enclave, frequently near the Kennedy compound in Hyannis, Massachusetts.
The Democratic Senator also said: 'No one should be capitalizing on the difficult circumstances that these families are in and contorting that for the purposes of a 'gotcha' moment.'
At the time of writing, Massachusetts Governor Charles Baker has not commented publicly on the move.
According to Cyr, the governor has activated state emergency management resources and Congressman Bill Keating is liaising with the Department of Homeland Security. The legal status of the migrants is not clear.
Cyr's statements were echoed by State Rep. Dylan Fernandes who told the Gazette: 'Some of them were told lies…they were told they would receive housing and jobs immediately upon arrival.'
The group is made up of mainly adult men and women who are ages 25 to 35. There are some children in the party who was between 10 and 12.
In December 2021, when DeSantis asked for millions of dollars in his state's budget to be made available for the removal of illegal immigrants, he said: 'If you sent them to Delaware or Martha's Vineyard or some of these places, that border would be secure the next day.'
The budget was ratified with $12 million being released for the purpose of transporting migrants out of the state.
That video was confirmed as authentic by Geoff Freeman, the airport director of Martha's Vineyard Airport, according to the MV Times.
The MV Times went on to report that sources say that the plane originated in Texas and that whoever was behind the flight, gave some of the migrants cell phones equipped with a translator app.
Dukes County Sheriff Robert Ogden met the group outside of the town's community services center. He told the migrants: 'We're going to take care of you. Get all your personal belongings together and then we'll move.'
The sheriff continued: 'Does everyone have their personal belongings? We're going to start moving you that way... The most important thing is we get you food and shelter and water.'
The group was sheltered at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School. They were fed dinner from a local pizza shop and coffee from a coffee shop known as Mocha Motts.
WGBH public broadcasting in the Boston-area reported on September 14 that some migrants who had been sent north had showed up in Tufts Medical Center's emergency room.
Dr. Brien Barnewolt, Chief of Emergency Medicine, told the broadcaster that none of those who were present had medical issues but simply did not know where to go.
At the same time as these new arrivals, humanitarian crisis is deepening in the Texas border town of El Paso, where nearly 1,000 migrants have been released to sleep on the streets amid a surge of illegal crossings that is overwhelming Border Patrol facilities.
Following a large influx of migrants, primarily from Venezuela, Border Patrol facilities and shelters in the west Texas town have been overwhelmed in recent days, leading to a flood of so-called 'street releases'.
Congressman Tony Gonzalez, a GOP US Representative, told the New York Post: 'We've never seen anything like this. It's a scene that you would see in a third-world country, not in the streets of El Paso.'
It has led to scenes of misery, with hundreds of migrants sleeping on the streets without access to toilets or showers, and residents say that the 'smell of human waste is overwhelming in the area,' according to KVIA-TV.
'There's nothing safe about having people roaming the streets, it's almost apocalyptic,' Gonzales, who represents part of El Paso, told the ABC affiliate.
'I'd argue that we're very compassionate people, people who want to give the shirt off their back, but when there's no end in sight, it's just not fair,' said Gonzales.
The situation in El Paso comes days after the Biden administration officially extended special protections for Venezuelans, known as Temporary Protected Status, that shield some of them from deportation.
News of the grim situation in El Paso comes a day after migrants in Eagle Pass, 450 miles east along the border, were reported to have killed a guard dog and begun eating animals in desperation.
Just shy of 200,000 illegal immigrants were intercepted crossing the southern border in July, according to the most recent CBP figures available.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has begun bussing thousands of migrants to so-called sanctuary cities including New York, Washington DC and Chicago, where leaders there have moaned about struggling to cope with them.
But El Paso - the sixth largest city in Texas - is one of a number of border areas facing an exponentially worse crisis. It has a population which is 81 percent Hispanic and relies heavily on the petroleum industry for local jobs - but is also home to a large medical center and university. The average house there costs $203,000.
Most Read News
Russian tourist who 'tried to rape a cow' is gored by the animal and has to be rescued by stunned...
Comments
Comments
{{formattedShortCount}}
comments