'I don’t blame DeSantis one bit': Obamas asked to open their $12M estate to migrants by Martha’s Vineyard residents
MARTHA’S VINEYARD, MASSACHUSETTS: People living in Martha’s Vineyard expressed their concerns after Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, sent nearly 50 migrants there on Wednesday, September 14, without any apparent intimation. However, instead of targeting DeSantis, locals reportedly took an aim at former president Barack Obama and asked him to give shelter to the migrants by opening his $12 million estate.
On Thursday, September 15, the local tourism board of the island termed the situation a “humanitarian crisis’’. In a statement, a county emergency-management representative reportedly said, “This is an ongoing situation. We have reached out to our State and Federal partners for additional and long term support and assistance.”
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Lisa Belcastro, the winter shelter coordinator for the Harbor Homes of Martha’s Vineyard nonprofit, claimed: “We do not have the services to take care of 50 immigrants, and we certainly don’t have housing. We’re in a housing crisis as we are on this island, and so we don’t … have housing for 50 more people.”
Local resident Elizabeth Osborn Bostrom told The New York Post, “People here leave their doors open. It’s safe and there’s no real crime, usually. I’m not upset they came here, but I’m a little wary. I have my doors locked,” before noting, “I don’t blame DeSantis one bit. He’s trying to draw attention to the problem America has currently. It’s not an anti-immigration move. It’s bringing the biggest issue in America to people’s doorsteps.” Another resident Jane Chittick said: “I don’t think people like the Obamas with huge estates who live here in the summer will care (about the migrants). They have all these signs: ‘Private Property,’ ‘No Trespassing,’ ‘Do Not Come,’ ‘Police Are Patrolling.’ They’re not going to be on the streets in town or the church where a lot of the migrants were put last night.”
He went on to mention, “I would love to see the Obamas open up their huge property and erect tents and look after all these people while they’re being processed,” before adding, “The people who live there are rich and removed from real life. These people will love the fact the immigrants have been dropped off on their island, because now they can feel like part of the solution, helping these few people. But they’d never let them into their houses unless they were working.”
Meanwhile, Tucker Carlson has lambasted people of Martha's Vineyard for starting a GoFundMe to “help Martha's Vineyard migrants”. However, before they would have been helped, the immigrants were transported to a Cape Cod air base, The Daily Mail reported. Making fun of the locals, the television host said on Friday night, September 16: “It's one of the richest places in the United States and it has more available beds than any other place probably in North America right now, but it's just they can't swing it - but you can do your part by donating to the fund, and by donating the fund, they'll help the migrants.”
He continued: “Well, a lot of people believed it. The fund raised $40,000 - but here's the best part. You're going to love this part. How much of that money is going to the migrants? Oh, none. None. An update on the fundraising page reveals that the funds will instead go toward, ‘building up a reserve to assist situations like this in the future, rather than directly helping this group of migrants in their situation.’” Carlson then added, “In other words, Martha's Vineyard is building itself an endowment just like Harvard. Amazing! An endowment for Martha's Vineyard! Not to help anyone, but because, why wouldn't Martha's Vineyard want an endowment?”