In a surprise announcement Wednesday evening, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office took credit for sending two planes with migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, apparently jump-starting an immigration program without revealing any details.
The governor told reporters three weeks ago that the program was on standby, and the Florida Department of Transportation, which is overseeing the immigrant relocation program, said it had no details about how it would work yet.
Things changed on Wednesday — on DeSantis’ birthday.
“Florida can confirm that two planes with illegal immigrants that arrived in Martha’s Vineyard today were part of the state’s relocation program to transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities,” Taryn Fenske, the governor’s communication director, said in a statement.
Martha’s Vineyard is an island south of Cape Cod, popular for summer vacations and accessible only by plane or ferry.
Fox News was given an exclusive, and it showed footage of the migrants arriving in Martha’s Vineyard on its nightly, prime-time show.
“Everyone on the left has a home there. Do you think they are going to be embracing their new neighbors?” Fox News host Jesse Watters said.
Fenske did not provide further details. Among the questions that have not been answered are how many migrants were transported out of the state, how they were relocated, which private company transported them, how much those companies were paid and how the program works.
Conflicting reports
The Martha’s Vineyard Times reported that about 50 migrants arrived in two chartered planes and that at least some of them had come from Texas. The Times said at least some of the people were Venezuelan. Local authorities were housing and feeding the people, the Times reported.
Texas has been busing migrants to Washington, D.C., and New York City since April as part of a program called “Operation Lone Star,” which, similar to Florida, was launched in a rebuke to President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.
In Texas, the program is voluntary for migrants who show documentation that they have been processed and released by the Department of Homeland Security. The state pays for the travel expenses, according to the Texas Tribune.
Massachusetts state lawmakers and local officials shared information about the flights on Wednesday with local reporters, and there were conflicting reports as to where the planes originated.
Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Cape Cod, said one plane left from San Antonio, and that this appeared to be part of a larger campaign to divert migrants from border states, according to The Vineyard Gazette.
“Just like the reverse freedom rides in the 1960s, this endeavor is a cruel ruse that is manipulating families who are seeking a better life,” Cyr told the Gazette. “No one should be capitalizing on the difficult circumstances that these families are in and contorting that for the purposes of a ‘gotcha’ moment.”
According to The Martha’s Vineyard Times, local officials at one point said they believed planes were coming from Texas, Florida and Alabama.
“Some of them were told lies … they were told they would receive housing and jobs immediately upon arrival,” Rep. Dylan Fernandes, D-Falmouth, told the Times. Fernandez joined the relief effort in Martha’s Vineyard.
No details on publicly funded state program
The Florida program was funded starting July 1 after DeSantis signed this year’s state budget, which included $12 million for the initiative. Under the Legislature-approved guidelines, the state can contract with private transportation companies to bus people to other parts of the country. DeSantis had talked about sending them to Delaware, the state Biden calls home.
DeSantis’ administration has not said whether the program in Florida would work like the one in Texas, which would mean migrants who were transported to Martha’s Vineyard volunteered to be taken there at taxpayer expense.
Some Florida Democratic state lawmakers were quick to react to the news and point out that the program was publicly funded.
“Your tax dollars at work…,” state Rep. Michael Grieco, D-Miami Beach, posted on Twitter.
Ade Ferro, the director of the Venezuelan American Caucus, was dismayed by the news.
“The governor’s attitude does not surprise us, but the cruelty, inhumanity and lack of empathy with Venezuelan brothers and sisters, immigrants who are arriving in this country, fleeing in terror from a cruel and criminal dictatorship… never ceases to impact us,” Ferro said.
“Governor DeSantis fills his mouth talking about communism, talking about socialism, talking about authoritarianism, and he treats us like we’re trash. We will not forget it,” she added.
Ferro said the group will hold a press conference in Doral on Thursday morning to discuss the matter.
Miami Herald staff writer Bianca Padró Ocasio contributed to this report.
Someone needs to ask that Congressman who thought the island of Guam could capsize if he has similar concerns about Martha’s Vineyard.
Like the memes above.
Maybe for AOC and the SDNY, DeSantis and Abbott ought to spread the responsibility out even broader, with a massive dump into the Bronx.
The Democratic Senator Cyr’s quote smacks of supporting virtue signaling supporting sanctuary cities, as long as it’s not in his back yard. NIMBY.
“Just like the reverse freedom rides in the 1960s, this endeavor is a cruel ruse that is manipulating families who are seeking a better life,” Cyr told the Gazette. “No one should be capitalizing on the difficult circumstances that these families are in and contorting that for the purposes of a ‘gotcha’ moment.”
Hypocrite double standard, much?
Yeah. I thought so.
Let Obummer and Mike take a half dozen illegals into their beachfront mansion, as the architect of the open border policies in the quest to achieve a world that destroys the USA, and the red districts in particular.
They are ready and waiting. This must be why they installed the 12,000 gallon propane tank at their mansion there. Gas grills for migrant BBQ’s.
You really think Mike would grill migrants?
Their nuts, maybe?
I love it. I think all Governors being deluged with illegals should send them by bus, plane and rail to the wealthiest neighborhoods in the country, and let the people responsible for this fiasco deal with the ramifications.
DeSantis rocks.
Mayor Beetlejuice DID send the busload of wetbacks out of Chicago proper … into a nice, upper-crust suburb with a high jewish population …
I love it,me mum had a home on the Vineyard and while there are some great folks there year round tis a communist cesspool in many ways.
The articles in local rags always pushed for illegals being allowed to stay ect.,well, here you go folks!
Look at articles in vineyard Gazzette or Vineyard times for this story,the comments will make you smile like hell!
I love Mass and island declares themselves a sanctuary and then get riled up when folks take em up on offer!
Just a bunch of Massholes when it comes to hypocrisy.
Calm yourself, Kamala … and put those kneepads back … the guy with the brown willie won’t like it …
It’s just a publicity stunt, the people in marthas vinyard might be appalled at having immigrants but they will show what good raceless people they are by bending over backward to show how much the love brown people.
“The Florida program was funded starting July 1 after DeSantis signed this year’s state budget, which included $12 million for the initiative. Under the Legislature-approved guidelines, the state can contract with private transportation companies to bus people to other parts of the country.”
Shipping them at taxpayer expense and even private profit should only go one way. OUT. Sending them to other states is just as treasonous as others shipping them to red states.
Come on Anon, aren’t you down with turning America into a criminal hellscape to own the libs?
Sending them to the cities who openly accept them is saving the local taxpayers the hundreds of millions it takes to feed, clothe and house these people who should not be here. The left wants them, let the left have them.
TN- How come the south never figured out this bussing plan back in the sixties when all those Yankee do-gooders were telling us about how to worship kneegrows? As long as it was one-way there would have been plenty of donations for bus tickets to NY , DC and MASS.
Atlanta would be a much different place today…..if only.
Don’t know, Bea. Maybe they could not get enough coloreds interested in moving. That’s a lot of work you know. the Beaners only have a small sack of stuff and maybe a backpack, so it is not much for them to do when it comes to moving. The smart ones gotta figure there is less competition & probably better accommodations in MV than Del Rio.
Is it too late to try TN….. we could lie and tell them how the streets are paved with gold and how the nice peeps in MV/MASS will let them loot all the designer stores without so much as a eyebrow raised. Let them think section 8 there has valet parking, it could still work….I just know it.
Part of Atlanta’s problem was that it let too many (((folks))) from NYC into town … just like LA did back in the ’20s in Hollywood …
You get to pay for them no matter which state they’re in.
Just part of it. The state has a lion’s share through schools, medical care, police, fire, ambulance, etc. How many extra schools has TX had to build just to educate the illegals and their children? Property owners pay for every cent of the additional schools. They also drive down wages for low skilled workers, which increases the number of citizens on the state dole.
That’s some of the reasons TX started exporting to the cities who have stated they have open arms for ALL people.
You get to pay for them no matter which state they’re in.
Exactly.
So if I’m paying, I demand satisfaction.
And this is immensely satisfying.
But I’m a troll that loves seeing hypocrites disemboweled alive.
Oh crap, did I just write that?
I meant owned by their own sycophantic bullshit.
“…disemboweled alive…”
Superfluous verbiosity.
Who ever bothered to disembowel a corpse?
Do not forget hospitalization costs. Right there the return on investment is astronomical.
We The People still have to deal with them — and, don’t forget — they can travel throughout the 50 States … and will live for generations on OUR DIME … just like they have since the ’65 immigration act that LBJ signed.
Bullshit. The liberal asshats are the reason the illegals are here to begin with. It is not legal for the States to deport them, as that is a Federal responsibility so the next best thing is to dump them on the liberal asshats that brought them here in the first place. It is a brilliant move and the liberals do not have an answer for it. I hope every conservative governor ships as many as he can afford to sanctuary cities and States and they can deal with the lower living standards, costs, and crime that results from their idiotic policies.
You know what else isn’t “legal”? The federal government facilitating population warfare against the once free states of this union. It is not immoral and should not be “illegal” for the states to deport illegal entrants to wherever they came from. The federal gov’t is not just failing to do it’s job, it’s actively facilitating this invasion.
At this point the feds have not just broken the social contract, they are actively violating it every day. How many more millions of foreign invaders does Texas and Florida have to house before the states can start defending themselves?
They save money with every illegal they ship to another state.
This has to be a joke. Free shitters mixing with the Hoi Polluted yachting crowd. Heaven help us…. I have seen it all now.
There go the high-dollah property values, call me when there is blood in the streets so I can pick up some MV property for pennies on the dollar.
Just wait until a couple of high school girls get impregnated.
Are there corn fields on MV where they can dump the bodies after they are raped?
Just wait until a couple of high school girls get impregnated.
Yup.
Lots o’ fancy dancing latin lovers sent to MV.
They’ll figure out a way to get them out of there and into a browner area very quickly.
Next stop Springfield mass lol.
Don’t forget Buffalo.
Yeah but were they vaccinated, as required for all of the legal immigrants coming to this country?
Don’t need no stinking vax unless you play tennis.
Illegal means you don’t have to follow the same laws as everyone else.
I hear Maine had alot of unused space also.I believe NH has alot of insane libs. I hear the Brasure family of Hudson Florida love Mexicans and Biden send them a busload.
Maine-Shmaine, MASS should have every single illegal shoved up their ass til it is nothing but a black/brown blob on the map that can be seen from outer space. Other than DC, that is the perfect place for their colonization.
Stop the hate.
The Hamptons, Great Neck, Muttontown, Huntington, Westchester Co. and a hundred other places in New York outside of Manhattan can benefit mightily from the diversity, vibrancy and THird World culture of the newly-arrived.
Auntie loves that drug-resistant tuberculosis coming in from the south of the border.
THey voted for it – sanctuary city programs and the politicians who extoll it -, they like it, let the God-damned communists fucking choke on it.
(Crowd roaring and clapping) Moar Auntie, Moar!!!!!!!
When they’ve had enough, the Hamptonians will flee, and they’re going to head to your neck of the woods to fuck that up, too.
I wish you would quit holding back. How does Auntie really feel?
There’s a beautiful town on the south shore of Long Island Sayville, the friendliest town in America they like to say there send them smug fuckers a couple thousand guatis.
iggy,
slow down–
hudson,fl is a bit too close to me–
The liberals will parade the 50 illegals around to show how “compassionate and caring” they are…an election is coming. 50 is not enough, make it 500…5000! Then when they have no where to put them, deal with crime whether it is stealing or rape, and no means of identifying who is who…then they will see what Texas and Florida is dealing with. Ship them all to Obamas doorstep!
Only Kenyans are allowed at Barry’s place.
“Ade Ferro, the director of the Venezuelan American Caucus, was dismayed by the news.
“The governor’s attitude does not surprise us, but the cruelty, inhumanity and lack of empathy with Venezuelan brothers and sisters, immigrants who are arriving in this country, fleeing in terror from a cruel and criminal dictatorship… never ceases to impact us,” Ferro said.”
Wonder how many, if any, of the “brothers and sisters” she has taken into her home?
Wow, think about the cut rate landscape workers they will get..and nannies.
Think of all.the new sources of drugs.
and unaccompanied muchachos and chicas. Wink-wink.
Jaws was filled on The Vineyard. Next time you watch the movie pay attention to.the Demographics of the Island then and what it is to soon become.
They voted for this, I hope DeSantis sends thousands more to the island.
This is all pathetic theater to give our side something to cheer about while nothing is done to secure our border. Judging by how many “love it” comments I see here the propaganda is working as intended.
but, it beats worrying about inflation at the supermarket.
Hey, I’m with Jesse Kelley on this, they should be bused to Tierra del Fuego and left there. But if the alternative is that they are in Massachusetts or Florida, my choice is Massachusetts.
Mountainrat;
Were you born last night?
The border has been a problem since I was born.
A long time ago.
Nothing will ever be done to secure the border.
And I’m fine with that when it’s time to travel south to warmer climes.
For the first time in my life, I’m being entertained by it.
Don’t be such a wet blanket.
I am still waiting for a governor to actually fly or bus illegal aliens back to Mexico. All this accomplishes right now is some headlines and moving illegals deeper into our nation instead of out.
I am glad at least one person here sees the truth of this. It is harming our country and our People and they cheer about it because of framing.
a governor has no power to deport illegals–
the best they can do is block the border–
That is how supremacy doctrine was used to pervert the constitution. I doubt even any of those snakes could foresee the government would become so subverted and corrupted as to be welcoming invaders and blocking States from doing anything about it.
They can take them to the border and “encourage” them to walk back into Mexico.
I don’t often vote but if I do it will be for the governor that sends the most illegals to MASS.
Ready….. Set…. Go!
For every one illegal gaining entry in the US for true endeavors of better of better life at least twice that number have criminal intent .
Let’s see if MS13 sets up shop in the playground of the elite liberal dim wits
NEWSFLASH>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Two bus loads of migrants were dropped off near VP Kumala Harris’ house this morning courtesy of the Texas governor.
If they should shit on her porch (and hopefully they will) it will feel like being back home in Oakland, Commiefornia.
Auntie- They shoulda had the bus driver hand each migrant a generous dose of Ex-Lax about an hour before he delivered them to her doorstep. Talk about a Free Shit Army, all the free shit she will ever need with free delivery.
Making the going great. What a fabulous idea, BL.
Venezuelans?
No, no, no, the needed some Liberians, Somali, Ivory Coast type they can lavish their help upon. They need to equalize the general IQ with the locals.
Anybody over an IQ of 70 shouldn’t be sent there.
“Your tax dollars at work…,” state Rep. Michael Grieco, D-Miami Beach,
I’m sure it is much cheaper to ship them off to sanctuary cities that want them than it is to keep them and provide food, shelter and other necessities.
Some of our kids are headed to M V in a couple of weeks. I hope the city does not give away their VERY expensive hotel rooms to these illegal aliens and force the kids to sleep in their car/on the street, but it would not surprise me.
I think there is a mansion in Chappaqua, NY where a few busloads could be dropped.
That is so thoughtful, TN.
There are some really deserving folks out on that end of the island and I’m sure they would appreciate the opportunity to show their compassion.
Your Slaver Masters have plans for you
Each room can fit 50, so there’s plenty more room.
Surely the Obama pool house plus the boat house can provide the urgently needed shelter for the folks.
They are used to sharing a room with 10 – 15 others, so another 10 plane loads will fill up Barry & Mike’s extra betrooms. Isn’t there a Kennedy compound on the island that could house another 100 or so?
I don’t live in Florida, but you can bet your ass I am going to send DeSantis a check to help him stay in office. The same goes for Abbot, and any other politicians, that use this method to make the liberal assclowns life more miserable. We can start a new movement, screw the liberals get a check. It is called reward based training.
He’s going to be too busy running for President.
As long as folks continue to call these invaders ‘migrants’ — when, in fact, they’re illegal aliens — they will continue their invasion of our homeland …
a sheriff in texas is opening an investigation into desantis’ move in conjunction w/ an immigration atty in boston–
will they try to take out desantis this year or in 2 years when he is running 4 potus?
https://dailycaller.com/2022/09/19/migrants-texas-desantis-border/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking&pnespid=qeF7Bz5Zaa0RivqZtyi_H4qRoQO0SoJ3fbGmmrFw8QBm9Wk0xp.ZyCuW4bnLLh83kv6kKpI2