Dozens of modest properties and homes are available for rent on AirBnb in Martha’s Vineyard, can reveal.
Private rooms and small guest accommodations, which could have been used as a stopover for the migrants to be admitted, are offered for USD 180 per night.
Lisa Belcastro, the island’s homelessness director, made the sensational claim yesterday that the affluent area is experiencing a “housing crisis”.
After Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sent two planeloads of migrants to the pretty seaside town, Belcastro claimed the island could not support the addition of 50 more people.
Belcastro, who herself lives in a lavish $3.6 million four-bed, four-bath estate in a remote part of the island, is one of the Liberal officials who declared it a “humanitarian emergency” — and like one hurricane responded.
Her claims were backed by Gov. Charlie Baker, who said that Martha’s Vineyard, with a population of 15,000, “is unable to provide sustainable housing for the migrants”.
Earlier this morning he announced plans to bring the illegal mainland immigrants to the joint military base in Cape Cod – 32 miles away.
Lisa Belcastro claims the island faces a shortage of affordable housing, with the average home price hovering around $1 million. She told reporters that they “will eventually have to move somewhere else” because the island is suffering from a “housing crisis.”
The 50 migrants who arrived in Martha’s Vineyard will now be shipped on Friday on a 32-mile journey to a military base in Cape Cod
The average home in Martha’s Vineyard is worth nearly $800,000 according to the census, and the median household income is $77,370 – well above the national average of $67,521.
Properties available on the site range from $180 per night to $10,000 for more lavish multi-million homes.
They could be used to house the migrants – but it is clear that they would not fall into the ‘affordable housing’ category.
The Island Housing Trust has also set up a system of terraced one, two and three bedroom single family homes in the area – with lots in at least 14 available streets.
It’s unclear if taking advantage of the homes, which sell for $150,000 to $300,000 to households earning between $35,000 and $100,000, was an option.
Martha’s Vineyard also has a rental assistance program running in the six island towns for residents who earn less than 80 percent of the area’s median income.
Belcastro, who herself lives in a lavish $3.6 million four-bed, four-bath estate in a remote part of the island, is one of the Liberal officials who have declared it a “humanitarian emergency.”
The JBCC joint base, where the migrants are now being taken, houses five military commandos who are being trained for missions at home and abroad and has been used as a hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic
DeSantis yesterday sent two planes carrying 50 migrants to the wealthy island and is now threatening to send more to Delaware — following Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s “blueprint.”
Residents also appeared to turn on each other and smack their neighbors for denying migrants access to their “summer rental properties”.
One resident wrote on social media that immigration officials “should take them off the island to process so they’re no longer in our backyard.”
Others continued to lament the housing problems, writing: “The Vineyard is experiencing an acute housing crisis. Everyone has to work together.”
Some residents were caught in the line of fire because they asked for new locks to be put on their property shortly after the migrants landed.
Lisa Belcastro did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted by .
Nearly 1,000 migrants have been released to sleep on the streets of the Texas border town of El Paso amid a wave of illegal border crossings that have overwhelmed border patrol facilities.
Florida Gov. DeSantis is now yet again escalating the escalating immigration war in Democrat-run areas by threatening to fly illegal migrants to President Biden’s home state of Delaware.
Properties available on the site range from $180 per night to $10,000 for more lavish multi-million homes. They could be used to house the migrants – but it is clear that they would not fall into the ‘affordable housing’ category
The author herself lives in a remote part of the island in a $3.6 million estate that has a swimming pool and four bedrooms and bathrooms
Republicans have stepped up their attacks on the Biden administration as they attempt to make immigration an issue in November’s midterm elections.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre took aim at DeSantis and Abbott during a news conference today, urging other Republicans who disagree with their “blueprint” to “speak up.”
She said: “This is a problem and we were clear about it, this is an inhumane, vile problem and we should not use people, migrants, fleeing Communism as a political pawn.”
DaSantis accused critics of his attempt to fly migrants to Martha’s Vineyard of “virtue signaling” and said their concern for the migrants’ welfare was a “fraud.”
He said: “The moment even a small fraction of what these border towns deal with every day is brought to their doorstep, they get angry and they’re so upset that this is happening.”
It comes after Gov. Greg Abbott yesterday sent 101 illegal migrants outside VP Kalama Harris’ Washington DC home – just days after she declared the border was “safe”.
The migrants were ordered to take buses for the hour-and-a-half trip from the island to the military base in Cape Cod, where they will be given “dormitory-style” accommodation
Harris said in an interview on Sunday that the border is “safe” and is now in the midst of an attack by Gov. Greg Abbott on Democrat immigration rules.
She yesterday declined to answer questions about the sensational escalation as Abbott continues his campaign against so-called “sanctuary cities.”
An unidentified man filmed outside the Naval Observatory on Thursday told Fox News: “The border is open, not closed. Everyone believes the border is open.
“It’s open because we’re entering. We’ll come in for free, no problem. We came illegally, not legally.’
VP Harris has remained silent on the issue as she entered the Naval Observatory on Friday after refusing to answer questions on the subject on Thursday.
However, her husband Doug Emhoff said: “I have a reaction. I think it was shameful. These are people. These are people.
“They needed to be treated with dignity, kindness and respect, and they weren’t.
“And we have so-called leaders in this country who, instead of focusing on what’s good for the public in their own states, use people as pawns in a political stunt.”