Republicans are playing up immigration problems in the run-up to the midterm elections in November, and on Thursday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took credit for flying two planeloads of undocumented Venezuelans to luxurious Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
About 50 people, including children, arrived on the island on Wednesday; it is a popular summer retreat for Democratic presidents dating back to John F. Kennedy and includes Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
Local state legislator Dylan Fernandes said they were flown there on hired planes that left from Texas.
The latest of these actions was taken on Thursday, when dozens of migrants were unloaded from two buses, purportedly also from Texas, in front of the Washington mansion of Vice President Kamala Harris.
“People are arriving in Martha’s Vineyard via chartered flights from Texas. Lots of people wander around lost. The promise of shelter and employment was allegedly made to them “Fernandes tweeted about it.
“The so-called Christian Republicans have been planning for a while to use innocent people’s lives (men, women, and children) as bargaining chips in a political game. It’s horribly immoral and insensitive to human beings “According to what he had to say.
Both DeSantis and Abbott, two of the most visible and confrontational Republican governors, made the measures in an effort to bring attention to the political implications of the thousands of migrants who attempt to enter the southwest border into the United States every month.
Since April, Abbott has been sending buses full of migrants north, primarily to Washington, Chicago, and New York, from his state, which serves as the initial stop for most of those entering from Mexico.
Abbott said this is being done to help border towns in Texas.
On Thursday, Governor Abbott of Texas remarked that Vice President Harris is wrong in saying that the border is secure and in denying that there is an immigration issue.
In a tweet, he threatened to send migrants to her backyard unless the Biden administration “did its job & secured the border.”
DeSantis has backed Abbott, and his aides have maintained he was the one who planned the trip to Martha’s Vineyard.
Even though his state isn’t located near the southwest border, it nonetheless serves as a final destination for many immigrants.
Besides running for reelection this November, DeSantis is a leading prospect for the Republican nomination for president in 2024.
DeSantis spokeswoman Taryn Fenske told US media that states like Massachusetts, New York, and California would better enable the care of these persons that they have allowed into our nation.