Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis proudly claimed credit for putting more than four dozen migrants on airplanes and sending them to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. There is no indication that the people on board wanted to go to Martha's Vineyard or that they were even told where they were headed. The flights arrived yesterday afternoon and the passengers were taken by van to the Martha's Vineyard Community Services building.
A statement from DeSantis's office reads: "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."
From CNN:
The move follows in the footsteps of Republican Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Doug Ducey of Arizona, who began sending migrants to Washington, DC, earlier this year. Abbott has since expanded his effort to include New York City and Chicago.
Migrants released from government custody often move to other cities in the US as they go through their immigration proceedings. It's unclear where the migrants who arrived in Martha's Vineyard originated or whether they knew where they were going[…}
"There was no advance notice to anyone in Martha's Vineyard or Massachusetts that these migrants were arriving to my knowledge," [Massachusetts state Senator Julian] Cyr said.
"The island scrambled to respond," added. "They essentially set up shelters, the equivalent of a hurricane or Nor'easter. They set that up in a matter of hours and these families received a meal. They were Covid tested and are spending the night in shelters at several churches on the island."
