Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Declares ‘Humanitarian Crisis’ over Arrival of 50 Migrants

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The Chamber of Commerce of Martha’s Vineyard said the island was facing a “humanitarian crisis” after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sent planes carrying 50 illegal immigrants to the island Wednesday afternoon.

“To our Island community, here is an update on current humanitarian crisis on Martha’s Vineyard….we thank people for their continued help,” the island’s Chamber of Commerce tweeted Thursday.

A statement from the Dukes County Emergency Management Association included in the tweet said the island is providing “shelter, food, and care” to the illegal immigrants who arrived yesterday and that “a coalition of Vineyard towns, community-based, and nonprofit groups are assisting in this effort.”

“We will continue to work very closely with our state partners, who have pledged support and resources for any unmet needs that we may nave,” the statement continued.

The migrants were flown to Massachusetts from Texas, though the state of Florida paid for their travel out of a fund specially designated for that purpose.

Massachusetts state Representative Dylan Fernandes, whose district includes part of Martha’s Vineyard, wrote that Martha’s Vineyard “jumped into action” to find 50 beds, food, and health care for the illegal immigrants.

Fernandes added that DeSantis’s actions were “f***ing depraved.”

“The Governor of one of the biggest states in the nation has been spending time hatching a secret plot to round up & ship people-children, families-lying to them about where theyre going just to gain cheap political points on Tucker Calrson [sic] and MAGA twitter. It’s f***ing depraved,” Fernandes wrote on Twitter.

Republican lawmakers mocked the affluent summer colony’s Chamber of Commerce for declaring a “humanitarian crisis” over the arrival of just 50 Venezuelan immigrants, pointing out that the number constitutes a drop in the bucket compared to what border states deal with on a daily basis.

Fifty “people in Martha’s Vineyard is a ‘humanitarian crisis,’ but a record high number of over 2 million illegals trespassing in our country in 2022 alone is not a problem for Democrats. . .” Florida Representative Matt Gaetz wrote.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz said, “if 50 constitutes a humanitarian crisis in Martha’s Vineyard, what the hell is 4.2 MILLION?” alluding to reports citing the number of illegal immigrants who have entered the U.S. since President Joe Biden took office.

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