Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis sent a pair of flights of illegal immigrants Wednesday to Martha's Vineyard in the latest move to get Democrat-run areas away from the southern border to bear some responsibility for President Joe Biden's "open border policies."
"Florida can confirm the two planes with illegal immigrants that arrived in Martha's Vineyard were part of the state's relocation program to transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary destinations," a statement from DeSantis' office read.
"States like Massachusetts, New York and California will better facilitate the care of these individuals who they have invited into our country by incentivizing illegal immigration through their designation as 'sanctuary states' and support for the Biden administration's open border policies."
Charter flights arrived Wednesday afternoon on Martha's Vineyard, a Massachusetts state senator confirmed to WCVB-5 Boston.
The charter flights reportedly originated in Texas and made a stop in the Florida's panhandle, too, according to flight records.
There were an estimated 50 Venezuelan migrants, some of them children, brought to Martha's Vineyard Regional High School for snacks and shelter before being cared for by migrant shelters in Edgartown, WCVB reported.
"We're going to take care of you," Dukes County Sheriff Robert Ogden told the migrants, The Martha's Vineyard Times reported.
DeSantis has funded $12 million for a migrant relocation program that intends to send undocumented migrants to sanctuary cities and states around the country.
Martha's Vineyard is widely regarded as an upscale vacation destination and weekend escape for wealthy progressives, including being one of the homes for former President Barack Obama along with so-called Hollywood elites.
Legal expert Alan Dershowitz, sharing stories from his book, "The Price of Principle: Why Integrity Is Worth the Consequences," has repeatedly told Newsmax he has been ostracized on the island for having once defended former President Donald Trump against what he called an unconstitutional impeachment and not toeing the line of liberalism.
"The Baker-Polito Administration is in touch with local officials regarding the arrival of migrants in Martha’s Vineyard," Massachusetts GOP Gov. Charlie Baker wrote in a statement Wednesday night, saying it will support efforts to provide shelter and care for the migrants flown there.
Baker, once one of the most popular governors in the U.S., has decided against running for another term in the deep blue state. Trump-endorsed Geoff Diehl won the GOP gubernatorial primary earlier this month and will face Democrat state Attorney General Maura Healey in November's midterm election to be the next governor.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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