The influential Republican Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, on Wednesday September 14 claimed responsibility for sending two migrant planes to a posh – and Democratic – island in the northeastern United States.
A group of about fifty Venezuelan migrants, including children, arrived the same day at Martha's Vineyard, a vacation spot for the wealthy who hosted the Kennedys, the Clintons and the Obamas, according to the local daily MV Times.
Although the governor of Florida organized the transport, the migrant planes were arriving from Texas and not from his state, according to the newspaper.
“Migrants are being landed at Martha's Vineyard by charter flights from Texas. Many don't know where they are. They say they were told they would get housing and a job
,” local Democrat Dylan Fernandes tweeted late Wednesday.
“Our island has mobilized”
by providing beds, meals and care, he added, specifying that the inhabitants had not been warned in advance of this arrival.
The spokeswoman for the White House on Thursday called the gesture
"shameful"
and
"cruel"
.
“There is a mechanism and legal means (…) to manage migrants.
When Republican governors disrupt this mechanism and use migrants as political pawns, it's shameful
,” said Karine Jean-Pierre.
"It's a premeditated and
"cruel"
political maneuver
, she also said in her daily exchange with the press.
"Exploiting vulnerable people as part of a political coup is outrageous and cruel
," said Elizabeth Warren, a senator from Massachusetts, where the island of Martha's Vineyard is located.
As soon as even a small fraction of what the border towns have to go through every day is brought to their doorstep, they are furious.
»
Ron De Santis, Governor of Florida behind the operation
Immigration policy, an explosive subject in the United States, is even more so a few weeks before high-stakes midterm elections, with Republicans accusing President Joe Biden of having turned the border with Mexico into a sieve. .
It is a favorite theme of Republicans, and moving migrants during spectacular operations offers them the possibility of putting the debate back at the center of the news.
Ron DeSantis, who took responsibility for this transport through the voice of members of his team, thus joins a movement launched by the Republican governors of Texas and Arizona, determined to send migrants to Democratic cities in the North and east, in a very political gesture aimed at their constituents.
Ron DeSantis is campaigning for re-election in November.
He is also seen as a potential rival for former President Donald Trump in the race for the White House in 2024. During a speech on Thursday, the Republican denounced
the “sham”
of Democratic states which advocate welcoming immigrants.
"As soon as we bring even a small fraction of what the border towns have to endure every day to their doorstep, they are furious
," he said.
"Residents of Martha's Vineyard should be thrilled,"
Christina Pushaw, of the Florida Governor's communications team, quipped on Twitter on Wednesday.
“Illegal migrants will make the city more diverse, which is a strength.
Nope?"
“Political calculation”
Charlie Crist, Democratic opponent of Ron DeSantis in the race for the seat of governor in Florida, denounced a
"political calculation"
aimed at
"serving fresh meat to his electoral base"
.
The candidate denounced the price of this operation, saying that Florida was spending
“12 million dollars to send innocent immigrant children away from our state”
.
The very conservative governor of Texas Greg Abbott, a pioneer of this initiative and also campaigning for his re-election, for his part had two migrant buses sent near the residence of Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris.
They arrived Thursday morning in Washington, according to Fox News.
“Vice President Harris claims our border is
'safe'
and denies there is a crisis.
We are sending migrants to his garden to urge the Biden administration to do its job and secure the border
,” tweeted the governor of Texas.
He claims to have already sent 10,000 migrants since April to Washington, New York and more recently Chicago.
Transporting these migrants to Martha's Vineyard and Washington
"was a necessity"
, commented Andy Biggs, elected Republican from Arizona in the House of Representatives.
"Democratic leaders must come down from their ivory tower and face reality."
