On September 14th, flights arranged by the Florida governor, Ron de Santis, flew 50 migrants without warning to Martha’s Vineyard. 

Martha’s Vineyard is overwhelmingly liberal and is known to be an exclusive resort for the wealthy. This small island in Massachusetts, previously known as a tourist destination for its pristine beaches and picturesque views, was suddenly turned into a political battlefield.

This all started when some Republicans, tired of dealing with the influx of immigrants, blamed the Biden administration for not putting a stop to immigrants and unfairly putting the burden on them only.  It was only because of their geological location near South America that migrants would trespass into their states fleeing from South America due to the increasing chaos and instability. This has frustrated Republican governors greatly. They claim that liberals who support helping migrants settle would not be so supportive if migrants turn up on their doorsteps. Following this thought, some Republican politicians have been reallocating migrants to other liberal states and have defended these actions saying all the states should share the burden of immigrants. 

All of this culminated in the Martha’s Vineyard crisis. The Florida governor had a former military member gather the migrants. The migrants were first approached in San Antonio, a Texas city, with promises of resources for migrants in Boston, including expedited work papers. Instead, the Florida government used state-funded resources to chart the flight to Martha’s Vineyard. As the island is a travel destination, it lacked the resources to help these migrants settle. The island already lacked homes for its residents, with the median housing price being $1 million. The shelter for homeless people could only store a pitiful ten people, less than a quarter of the migrants. Still, the island’s residents were supportive and tried to help out with their meager resources. After some turmoil, these migrants were voluntarily relocated to Cape Cod, where services for migrants were better established. 

This controversial event only reopened wounds for both political parties. The GOP was frustrated by the lack of measures the Biden administration would take to curb the influx of illegal immigrants. They claimed that transporting these immigrants to liberal states would be more beneficial for the immigrants themselves as the asylums there have more space and be more inclined to allow them to stay. However, the Democrats were outraged that the Republicans would go to such an extent of inhumanely reallocating migrants and using them as “political pawns” to prove their point that Democrats are only supportive of migrants as they don’t have to deal with them. 

This incident only sparked tensions and polarized government parties. No matter how dire the situation is, it can be argued that it is inhumane and careless to use immigrants who have risked everything to cross the border. Furthermore, leaving these migrants in an isolated place without proper resources for assistance only proves that the officials were irresponsible and disregarded these people. It is all the more important to, instead, have both sides concede to valid points rather than be headstrong on their agendas to reach a bipartisan resolution that could relieve the tension.