RON DESANTIS SENDS TWO PLANES OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TO MARTHA’S VINEYARD:
Martha’s Vineyard is famously known as a playground of rich progressives, including former President Barack Obama, who bought a multimillion-dollar house there in 2019.
DeSantis, a Republican, proposed Delaware or Martha’s Vineyard as a destination for such migrants, but his office explained at the time that they could also be sent “to other ‘progressive’ states whose governors endorse blatant violations of federal immigration law.”
“It is not the responsibility of Floridians to subsidize aliens to reside in our state unlawfully; we did not consent to Biden’s open-borders agenda,” the governor’s office said at the time.
In November, DeSantis said dozens of migrant flights landed in Florida at the behest of the Biden administration, and he threatened at that time to send them to Delaware on buses.
Found via Rod Dreher, who tweets, “Based.”
Analysis: Absolutely True.
Related: Immigration Issue Stirs Heartfelt Response on Martha’s Vineyard:
“These warrant articles have always been about community policing and community safety and supporting local law enforcement,” said Irene Bright-Dumm, a spokesman for We Stand Together. “I think this morning we had a really productive dialogue to reiterate all of that. And I think we are lucky enough to live in a place where our police understand the value of community policing.” It was unclear exactly what the joint statement will say, although Aquinnah police chief Randhi Belain told the Gazette that the same statement would be read at each town meeting and help create a unified message. West Tisbury selectman Richard Knabel, who has been attending We Stand Together’s weekly meetings at the charter school, said Monday that the warrant article aims only to affirm current practices and send a message of support to the immigrant community. “It’s basically a slap on the back to the police force, saying, ‘Hey, we basically like what you are doing, keep doing it,’” he said.
One effect of the article has been to help clarify the relationship between ICE and Island police departments in terms of enforcing federal immigration law. As in other communities, information about people who are jailed at the Edgartown house of correction is automatically sent to ICE. If bail is later posted, it could trigger a so-called detainer notice from ICE, requesting that the county continue to hold the person for up to 48 hours. But Mr. Ogden said that doesn’t happen very often, and when it does, the county refuses.
“Primarily, we take our orders from the commonwealth,” he said. “In our facility, we have a standing order that states that any request for voluntary action from ICE, we will not uphold.” He added that all police on the Island have the same mandate and that Island police officers do not make arrests based on immigration status. “Someone would not come here just based on ICE, but because they broke the law,” he said.
Some communities in the state, including Barnstable and Bristol counties, have special agreements with the federal government, known as 287(g) programs, that allow them to carry out ICE activities on their own. But Mr. Ogden said that would place a heavy burden on Island police departments, since they would need to cover the additional costs. Mr. Knabel said Island chiefs had no interest in forming that type of agreement on the Vineyard.
But recent federal efforts surrounding illegal immigration, including President Trump’s Jan. 25 executive order aimed at strengthening federal immigration procedures and punishing sanctuary cities, have created a climate of uncertainty on Martha’s Vineyard and among its large Brazilian community.
—The Vineyard Gazette, April 6th, 2017.
Earlier: Sanctuary Cities Seethe as Illegal Immigrants Actually Arrive.
The surest sign that public policies are simply virtue signals is when the messages don’t cost anything. The easiest way to tell when that signal starts to fail is to watch politicians flounder as the costs start to rise and voters demand relief.
It was free—and meaningless—for progressive churches to post banners calling themselves “nuclear free zones” during the Reagan era. Their dwindling congregations loved it. It was free, after George Floyd‘s murder, to post woke catechism signs on your front lawn, proclaiming “In this house, we believe: Black Lives Matter, women’s rights are human rights, no human is illegal” and so on. Maybe the neighbors gave you high-fives. And for years it has been free for deep-blue cities to proclaim themselves “sanctuaries” for illegal immigrants. That’s changing now that voters want some sanctuary for themselves.
Changes like this happen when voters realize the old virtue signals actually entail serious costs—and that they will have to pay them. That is exactly what’s happening in New York City and Washington D.C. now that Texas governor Greg Abbott is sending those cities a few busloads of illegal immigrants from his state.
These progressive bastions were silent when the Biden administration flew planeloads of illegal immigrants to suburban airports in the middle of the night. TV coverage was prohibited, and the arrivals were secretly dispersed. Abbott’s buses, by contrast, arrive downtown greeted by local TV crews. Now you can hear the politicians screech.
Why, it’s as if: Democrats Discover Only The Federal Government Can Solve The Border Crisis.
More: Good Morning America reports that around 9,000 migrants have ‘flooded’ Washington this summer.
