The massive arrival of illegal immigrants is being used as a bargaining chip between political rivals
With exactly seven weeks to go before the decisive mid-term elections , in which Democrats and Republicans are playing for control of both Houses of Congress, the massive arrival of illegal immigrants in the United States is being used as a bargaining chip between political rivals .
The governors of Florida , Texas and Arizona – Ron DeSantis, Greg Abbott and Doug Ducey – have harshly criticized the policies implemented from the White House by the US president in this direction, but their actions are going far beyond words .
Thousands of people in an irregular situation are being transferred on buses and even on flights chartered by state authorities from Florida, Texas and Arizona to the East Coast of the United States. The great cities and seats of political and economic power in the country, Washington and New York, as well as Chicago, are overwhelmed with the recent arrival of thousands of unprotected immigrants from the border area with Mexico through Central and South America.
The residence of Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington and Martha’s Vinyard, the wealthy vacation area par excellence among the American elite located on the island of Massachusetts , have become the center of the latest partisan dispute this past week. At the first stop alone, the buses moved more than 100 people from Colombia, Cuba, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela last Thursday.
“In Florida we take very seriously what is happening on the southern border. We are not a sanctuary state and we will gladly facilitate the transport of illegal immigrants to sanctuary jurisdictions,” the Florida governor denounced. Ron De Santis is one of the biggest detractors of Joe Biden’s immigration policies and the main promoter of recent provocative measures extended from several Republican states towards the leaders of the so-called “sanctuary” cities.
The truth is that Florida received about 12 million dollars to transport “unauthorized aliens” out of the state , while its governor assures that the flights with migrants to Martha’s Vineyard are part of an initiative to “transport illegal immigrants to destinations sanctuaries”.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the Republican governors’ actions a “cruel and premeditated political stunt,” while California Governor Gavin Newsom, also a Democrat, added that the practice of “transporting families, including children, across state lines under false pretenses is morally reprehensible, but it could also be illegal.”
The exclusive island of Martha’s Vineyard
The exclusive island of Martha’s Vineyard is especially known for being the name chosen by numerous US presidents, such as the Kennedy family, the Clintons or, more recently, the Obamas, on whose property they have enjoyed their summer vacations for years.
Although the atmosphere of the small island surrounded by the Atlantic has changed a lot in recent weeks. A short distance from luxurious mansions and sophisticated restaurants, hundreds of people sent from the southern border states, arrive with their clothes on without even speaking the language. They also do not know where they are going or how they got there.
“They were promised they would have a job and a home,” said Elizabeth Folcarelli, director of the nonprofit Martha’s Vineyard Community Services. When she was about to finish her workday, Folcarelli saw a group of 40 Venezuelans appear in front of her with luggage, backpacks and some red folders from her organization.
Hundreds of migrants, mostly from Venezuela, have been duped from their home countries, traversing endless challenges on foot to end up being cared for in already overflowing shelters, receiving food, medical care and information on where to find work.
“Biden and “border czar” Harris refuse to acknowledge the consequences of their open border policies. Texas is bringing the border into your backyard to ease our overwhelmed communities. It is time to fix this crisis that they created,” said Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
The target of the current partisan battle, the worst consequences of the political disagreements between the Biden Administration and the border states of the country governed by Republicans are being directly suffered by thousands of undocumented immigrants transferred without any guarantee of security and often in inhumane conditions.
Although, with no sign of protest, the local population of the small island south of Boston showed its most supportive side. Dozens of volunteers offered to provide as much support as possible, while donations to help them continued to grow. The migrants were visited by lawyers who offered them free legal advice, while also receiving other services.
