Democrats and Republicans have divergent priorities for U.S. immigration policy

Around 50 migrants were sent to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by plane using taxpayers’ dollars last week. The migrants were later shifted to a military base after a few days to receive humanitarian aid and shelter.

After two days of uncertainty in Martha’s Vineyard, the migrants were told they would be shifted to a Joint Base Cape Cod military base. After hearing the news, the migrants, whom this small island’s locals supported, cheered.

On September 14, 2022, migrants were flown from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard as part of the series of steps taken by Republican Governors to shift migrants to liberal enclaves. This is in protest as the governors feel there is not enough federal effort to beef up southern border security.

This surprise migrant inflows took Martha’s Vineyard, and Governor DeSantis was sharply criticized for his actions by the White House, Democratic officials, and migrant advocates.

The migrants who were given shelter at a church in Martha’s Vineyard cheered when they were told that the Massachusetts government had arranged to stay at the military base in Cape Cod. On September 16, they arrived by government-arranged buses at the military installation.

The state emergency management at Joint Base Cape Cod has set up temporary but safe accommodations that are sufficient for migrant individuals and families.

Accommodation at JBCC

The accommodation at Cape Cod will have dormitories with families and separate from individuals. The migrants have facilities like food, hygiene kits, healthcare, legal aid, and crisis counseling. General information about the U.S. immigration laws was given to the migrants.

Civil rights attorneys working closely with the migrants said their stories were infuriating and heartbreaking.   Many migrants had to go to the hospital in need of care after their arrived at Martha’s Vineyard.

Some migrants, despite having immigration hearings in locations far from Massachusetts, were sent to the Island. Typically, migrants who get released from Government custody move to other cities even as their immigration proceedings continue.

The Governor’s move has been termed “cowardly” by a civil rights group. Many immigration hearings are scheduled immediately but thousands of miles away from the military base. Some attorneys accompanied the migrants on the buses to the Cape Cod military base.

Though the migrants came to the Vineyard from Texas, Florida Governor claimed he had made the arrangements for the flights. The flights were from San Antonio airport in Texas to Martha’s Vineyard airport.

Immigration tussle between the Republicans and Democrat

Democrats and Republicans have divergent views on national immigration policy. Republicans put greater importance on the security of the U.S. border and the deportations of immigrants who stayed in the country illegally. Democrats, on the other hand, want a roadmap for legal status for those immigrants who have entered the country illegally, especially those who had entered as children. These findings are as per a survey report by Pew Research Centre.

However, some areas overlap between the position taken by the Democrats and the Republics. There is also a sizable difference in ideology in immigration goals in partisan coalitions. The liberal Democrats and the conservative Republicans expressed extreme views, more than others, in their coalitions.

The Martha’s Vineyard migrants issue goes back to DeSantis, who had for months tried to get the migrants moved from the southern border in such a manner to increase the heartburn among democrats.   DeSantis wants migrants to move from the southern border, not his state.

 DeSantis administration got a $ 12 million state budget approved to pay the expense required for the relocation of migrants. He had repeatedly threatened to use that money to ensure that migrants were sent to the Democrat’s strongholds. 

The Governor defended his policy that used taxpayers’ money to send migrants to Martha’s Vineyard as many immigrants who cross the U.S. border end up in Florida.

The state budget revealed that the Transportation Department of Florida paid $615,000 to Vertol Systems, an aviation company based in Destin, Florida, for relocating the migrants. The expense did not disclose whether it was for the two flights to Martha’s Vineyard or any other contracted services.

The White House criticizes the Governor’s move.

DeSantis’s decision to send migrants to Massachusetts was one of the two high-profile transportation last week sent by South Republican Governors to North. Governor of Texas Greg Abbott sent two buses of migrants to Vice President Kamala Harris’s residence in Washington.

The White House denounced the move by the two governors and accused them of using “migrants” as pawns and saying their actions were cruel and a pre-planned political stunt.

Immigration views – ideological differences and partisan views

Immigration numbers have reached record levels at the southern border of the U.S. Nearly three-quarters of Americans favor increased security on the Mexico-US border to reduce illegal entry. Almost all Republicans say that border security should be the most important goal. At the same time, a small majority of Democrats also share the same views, according to a survey conducted during August 1-14 of 7,647 US adults.

Most Americans favor immigrants who have fled wars and those who came as children to apply to the immigration system and get legal status. This support came more from Democrats than from Republicans.

Two-thirds of the population want the legal system to be made easier for U.S. citizens and allows legal residents to sponsor family members to immigrate to the U.S. Similarly, around 57% want illegal immigrants to be deported, as this was an important goal in the U.S. immigration policy.

U.S. immigration policy – modest changes

Over the past few years, most public views have been stable on immigration policy. Views on taking in illegal immigrants who came as refugees and those who came as children were the same from 2019 and 2016, respectively. A modest increase of Americans from 54% to 57% say that deportation of illegal immigrants is a top priority.

Physiological rehabilitation of Huma Race 

The heart-rending stories of the migrants underline the turmoil and trauma of this kind of pandemic that has not only amplified but looked towards a deeper and lasting solution to all the suffering and chaos suffered by humans. Australian biologist Jeremy Griffith, in his book titled “Freedom – the end of Human Condition,” in which Griffith explains in the book the underlying cause of all the suffering, which according to him, is evil or good – the so-called human condition.

Griffith explained the human conditions biologically and asked for proper psychological rehabilitation of the human race.

The migrant’s story of Martha’s Vineyard is another example of how to look at a world that has suddenly changed from a psychologically scarred, egocentric, angry, and alienated state to a world where everyone has decided to abandon them yet-to-be healed, aggressive and competitive behavior and take up support for loving and cooperative existence.

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