The 50 or so migrants who were sent to a posh island in the northeastern United States as part of a political struggle over immigration will be temporarily received at a military base nearby, the Massachusetts governor said on Friday.
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The migrants, mostly Venezuelans and including children, arrived Wednesday in Martha’s Vineyard, a democratic stronghold and a popular vacation spot for the country’s political elite. They had been brought on board flights from Texas, but Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis claims to have chartered.
Despite local mobilization to support newcomers, the island “is not equipped to provide sustainable housing and state officials have developed a plan for a comprehensive humanitarian response,” according to a government statement by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker.
On Friday, authorities offered to transport these migrants “to a new temporary shelter” at Joint Base Cape Cod. “Families will not be separated,” the statement said, noting that this base had previously served as emergency shelter and that they would have access to nursing and legal services.
According to local media, the migrants left Martha’s Vineyard later in the day.
Some of them had said that when they left Texas they didn’t know they were being sent to an island.
“Human trafficking”
Local Democrat Julian Cyr has called for an investigation.
“Whether it fits the legal definition of human trafficking or not, it fits the moral definition of human trafficking (…). I hope the Justice Department investigates this issue,” he told local television.
Sending migrants to Democratic strongholds has become a political weapon for American right-wing tenors to denounce the policies of President Joe Biden, who they accuse of turning the border with Mexico into a sieve, and attempt to ban immigration to focus on campaigning for the midterm elections in November.
Two buses carrying migrants arrived near Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence in Washington on Thursday. A location deliberately chosen as the Democratic official responsible for the explosive White House immigration file. They had been sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
The White House again criticized these methods on Friday, denouncing a “deliberate and cruel political staging”.
“They are children. They are mothers. They were fleeing Communism. And what did Gov .
Ron DeSantis joked about her transfer.
“By the way, they have already left it (the island) by bus (…). They said, “We all want, no one is illegal,” and[the migrants]left Martha’s Vineyard within 48 hours, he said.