Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to fly four dozen migrants to Martha’s Vineyard last week has moved the border crisis to center stage.
Naturally, Democrats are outraged by the move and have accused DeSantis of using human beings as political pawns. This was especially ironic, given that only 48 migrants were involved, a tiny fraction of the thousands of illegal immigrants who pour over our open southern border every day.
Perhaps the most absurd reaction to DeSantis’ political stunt was that from Bexar County, Texas, Sheriff Javier Salazar, a highly partisan Democrat, who sees the incident as human trafficking. During a Monday press conference, which can be viewed on the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, he announced he had opened up a criminal investigation into the incident. Salazar claims the migrants were “lured” from the Migrant Resource Center, and “ultimately left to fend for themselves in Martha’s Vineyard, MA.”
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has opened an investigation into the migrants that were lured from the Migrant Resource Center, located in Bexar County, TX, and flown to Florida, where they were ultimately left to fend for themselves in Martha’s Vineyard, MA.
— Bexar County Sheriff’s Office (@BexarCoSheriff) September 19, 2022
Additionally, we are working with private attorneys who are representing the victims, as well as advocacy organizations regarding this incident. We are also preparing to work with any federal agencies that have concurrent jurisdiction, should the need arise.
— Bexar County Sheriff’s Office (@BexarCoSheriff) September 19, 2022
DeSantis came out swinging in a Monday night appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity.” Host Sean Hannity pointed out that the Biden administration “has been flying and busing illegal immigrants every day all over the country in the dark of night, just leaving them in the middle of the street, so why are they only now paying attention to 50 people that you sent?”
DeSantis, never one to mince words, went scorched earth on Salazar and all the others who are disingenuously accusing him of human trafficking. “Millions of people, since Biden’s been president, illegally coming across the southern border. Did they freak out about that?” he asked rhetorically. “No. You’ve had migrants die in the Rio Grande. You had 50 die in Texas in a trailer [a reference to a June 28 incident in San Antonio, Texas] … You’ve had criminal aliens get across that southern border and victimize Americans, killing some, raping some. … And then, of course, we know fentanyl deaths are at an all-time high.”
Does the media focus enough on Biden’s role in the border crisis?
Regarding Martha’s Vineyard, he noted, “They said they were a sanctuary jurisdiction. These were people who were basically destitute and then put in a situation where they could have succeeded, but that was all virtue signaling. And not only did they not welcome them, they deported them the next day with the National Guard. Give me a break.”
“They all signed consent forms … It was clearly voluntary … And why wouldn’t they want to go, given where they were? … Sean, there are jobs available in Martha’s Vineyard. There is lodging available in Martha’s Vineyard. Had they lived up to what they bill themselves as … a sanctuary jurisdiction, they could have absorbed those people without a problem.”
Noting that island residents said they didn’t have the resources to take care of the migrants, the governor said, “Let’s just say that’s true for a minute. Well, what does that mean for these poor towns in Texas? What does it mean for these other places across the country that are seeing influx? What does it mean to the small towns that Biden has dumped so many people in?
“So, I think what we’ve been able to do is show that this border is a disaster. Biden has failed on this as much or more than on any other policy, and now people are talking about it. And we want solutions as Americans. We want to make sure that Trump’s policies of Remain in Mexico can be reinstituted so we can get control over what’s going on down there.
“They accuse the governors of Arizona, Texas and me of political stunts … But the biggest stunt was Biden coming into office and reversing Trump’s policies. Not because Trump’s policies weren’t working. He reversed them because he wanted to virtue signal to his base and he wanted to show that he thought Donald Trump was bad. … And he reversed it knowing what would end up happening. And so, he has pulled the biggest political stunt.”
?Gov. DeSantis is always on offense?
“I haven’t heard a peep about all the people, who have been told by Biden that you can just come in. They’re being abused by cartels, they’re drowning in the Rio Grande, you had 50 that died in Texas…I heard no outrage about any of that.” pic.twitter.com/YIujcceznZ— DeSantis War Room ? (@DeSantisWarRoom) September 20, 2022
During his Monday press conference, Salazar said he couldn’t yet identify which specific statute had been violated, “but what I can tell you is it’s wrong. Just from a human rights perspective, what was done to these folks is wrong.”
Stunning. Does the government now investigate people because a Texas sheriff feels what they did was “wrong”?
Apparently, the answer is yes. Anything goes, because … Trump.
Making the rounds on liberal cable networks, the sheriff urged San Antonio restaurants to hire migrants to help deal with the labor shortages that developed nationwide after the Biden administration made it more lucrative for unemployed workers to stay home than take low-paying jobs.
It was clear from highly partisan CNN host Alyson Camerota’s demeanor that not even she was buying it.
Bexar Co Sheriff is tired of long waits for tables, so he urges restaurants in San Antonio to hire the 2 million+ illegal aliens who have crossed during the Biden Border Crisis.
If restaurants took the Sheriff’s advice, they’d be violating federal law.
pic.twitter.com/jasResY1Ji— DeSantis War Room ? (@DeSantisWarRoom) September 20, 2022
Hillary Clinton appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” last Friday and agreed with host Joe Scarborough’s remarkable claim that DeSantis’ flying the migrants to Martha’s Vineyard was “literally human trafficking” and that no one wants open borders, Fox News reported.
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley offered a detailed explanation on his website as to why the claim was “legally nonsense.” He wrote: “The Justice Department has long interpreted its mandate for prosecution under this provision as addressing ‘a crime that involves exploiting a person for labor, services, or commercial sex.’”
DeSantis’ move was a masterstroke. Unless you happen to live in a border state, it’s relatively easy to forget how dire the crisis has become. Democrats wanted it to stay that way. After all, it’s so much easier to support the Biden administration’s reckless agenda when you are insulated from the consequences.
The Florida governor’s action has succeeded in moving this issue to the “front burner.” Everyone is talking about it and the midterms are less than 50 days away.
