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New thermal imaging shows thousands of migrants swarming the southern border in Eagle Pass, Texas, as the White House has reportedly entered panic mode over the over-two million migrant encounters the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has faced this fiscal year.
At least three large groups totaling over 500 attempted to cross in the Del Rio Sector, according to Fox News reporter Bill Melugin. Over 450,000 have attempted to pass in Del Rio so far this year.
The number of migrants crossing the US-Mexico border is nearing 8,000 per day, according to data obtained by NBC. DHS considers its resources to be at capacity when the number is only 5,000 per day.
Meanwhile tension is growing between the White House and senior-level DHS officials over how to handle the onslaught of migration and as Republican governors keep transporting migrants to blue cities.
New thermal imaging shows thousands of migrants swarming the southern border in Eagle Pass, Texas
Biden administration officials have been hosting high-level meetings on the matter where DHS officials have presented drastic options such as flying migrants to the country’s northern border to alleviate overcrowding at the southern border.
DHS officials have also grown frustrated at the White House’s reluctance to take a page out of the GOP playbook and transport migrants to cities in the U.S. that aren’t along the border.
White House officials have reportedly said when migration reaches 9,000 per day they will begin what they call ‘interior processing,’ busing or flying migrants to cities with shelters that can house them as they await their immigration court dates.
The plan would ideally be more organized than when Republican governors in Texas, Arizona and Florida have dropped off migrants in Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago and Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.
Documents obtained by NBC News show some DHS officials have told the Biden administration it needs to begin securing planes and planning for interior processing now.
Authorities in the affluent Martha’s Vineyard, an island off Massachusetts, have described the arrival of 50 migrants from Florida this week as a ‘humanitarian crisis.’ At the same time, Abbott sent two busses of migrants to be dropped off outside Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence at One Naval Observatory.
The 50 migrants have been put on buses by Gov. Charlie Baker to travel the 32 miles to Joint Base in Cape Cod (JBCC) just 48 hours after they landed in the billionaire’s enclave.
Immigrants start boarding busses to leave Martha’s Vineyard on Sept. 16, 2022
Police had a few buses to take the immigrants back over to the Cape Cod
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sent 50 migrants to the affluent island of Martha’s Vineyard
Meanwhile in El Paso, Texas nearly 9,000 migrants have simply been released at bus stations because local shelters are at capacity.
The White House has been secretly urging Mexico to take back migrants who are expelled from the U.S. under Title 42 after publicly claiming they want to scrap the Covid-19-era health policy, according to Reuters.
Mexico already accepts migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador as they are turned away by the US, but Biden officials are now pushing them to take migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
Many migrants from those nations are allowed to stay in the U.S. and claim asylum because they are hard to deport due to sour diplomatic relations with their governments.
On Friday morning three buses pulled up outside of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Edgartown to take the mostly Venezuelan migrants on the first leg of their journey to the ferry.
They will be travelling from the elite island of billionaires with holiday mansions – including multi-million homes owned by the Obama’s and Oprah – to the military base on the mainland, escorted by police.
Lisa Belcastro, a homelessness director in the area said on Thursday that the island cannot support the migrants – where the median home price is nearly $1m- because it is facing a shortage of affordable housing.
On Friday morning three buses pulled up outside of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Edgartown to take the mostly Venezuelan migrants on the first leg of their journey to the ferry
The median house in Martha’s Vineyard is worth almost $800,000, according to the census, and the median household income is $77,370 – well above the national average of $67,521.
She told reporters that at ‘some point they have to move somewhere else’, because the island is suffering from a ‘housing crisis.’
The JBCC joint-use base home to five military commands training for missions at home and overseas, conducting airborne search and rescue missions, and intelligence command and control.
Baker said in a statement: ‘JBCC is a facility already designated by MEMA as an emergency shelter in Barnstable County, and its existing infrastructure provides a safe temporary accommodation appropriate for the needs of families and individuals.
‘Additionally, the facility can provide dedicated space for access to legal services and other essential services such as basic healthcare.’
He confirmed that the migrants will be living in ‘dormitory-style spaces’ at the base, and families will not be separated.
Baker added that it has previously been used as a shelter for those impacted by Hurricane Katrina, and was home to a field hospital when the COVID pandemic started.
He is also activating 125 members of the Massachusetts National Guard to help with the relief efforts, with police escorting the buses to the ferry port on the island Friday morning.
According to Baker, Martha’s Vineyard, with a population of 15,000, is ‘not equipped to provide sustainable accommodation’ to the migrants.
They were all ordered to get on buses for the hour and a half trip from the island to Cape Cod.
Jhorman Cuicas, one of the migrants, told The MV Times he wished that he could stay.
Senator Susan Moran said: ‘Using vulnerable populations as pawns in a political game is heinous; this we can agree on regardless of political party.
‘I have been meeting with local and state agencies over the last 24 hours to ensure we are doing everything we can tosupport both the immigrants and the local officials who are on the front lines of responding to their needs.
‘This morning it was announced that the men, women and children who recently arrived from Venezuela will be moved temporarily to Joint Base Cape Cod where we can better address these challenges.
‘In Massachusetts, we treat all people with dignity and respect.’
The move comes after DeSantis accused critics of his move to fly migrants to Martha’s Vineyard of ‘virtue signaling’, saying their concern for the welfare of the migrants was a ‘fraud’.
He said: ‘The minute even a small fraction of what those border towns deal with every day is brought to their front door, they go berserk, and they’re so upset that this is happening.’
DeSantis sent two planes of 50 migrants to the affluent island yesterday, and is now threatening to send more to Delaware – following in the ‘blueprint’ of Texas Gov Greg Abbott
Migrants in Eagle Pass, 450 miles east along the border, were also reported to have killed a guard dog and begun eating animals in desperation
State Senator Julian Cyr, a Massachusetts Democrat representing Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, admitted that they had implemented emergency hurricane plans in response to the new arrivals.
Nearly 1,000 migrants have been released to sleep on the streets Texas border town of El Paso amid a surge of illegal crossings that is overwhelming Border Patrol facilities.
It comes after the residents of the wealthy island were left reeling, with locals and officials quick to voice their outrage at the move.
But now they have been criticised for being ‘unable to handle’ the 50 migrants in their affluent home town for less than two days.
St. Andrew’s is also just over three miles away from the Obama family’s $11.75 million vacation compound, which is situated on the coastal outskirts of Edgartown.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo joked about how the town’s wealthy liberals might react to the migrants saying: ‘These are all sanctuary cities until they’re in their sanctuary. I doubt they will embrace them.’
Florida Gov DeSantis is now upping the escalating immigration war again in Democrat-run areas by threatening to fly illegal migrants to President Biden’s home state of Delaware.
It comes after the residents of the wealthy island were left reeling, with locals and officials quick to voice their outrage at the move
Republicans have stepped up their attacks on the Biden administration as they try to make immigration the theme of November’s midterm elections.
Lt. Gov Jeanette Nunez has also declared that DeSantis’ administration is planning to send any illegal migrants from Florida to Delaware.
It comes after Gov Greg Abbott sent 101 of illegal migrants outside of VP Kalama Harris’ home in Washington DC yesterday – just days after she declared that the border was ‘secure’.
Harris declared on Sunday that the border is ‘secure’ in an interview and has now found herself in the midst of an attack by Gov Greg Abbott against Democrat immigration rules.
She yesterday refused to answer questions about the sensational escalation, as Abbott continues his campaign against so called ‘sanctuary cities’.
One unidentified man filmed outside the Naval Observatory on Thursday told Fox News: ‘The border is open, not closed. Everybody believes that the border is open.
‘It is open because we enter. We come in free, no problem. We came illegally, not legally.’
Karine Jean-Pierre took aim at DeSantis and Abbott during a press conference today, urging other Republicans who do not agree with their ‘blueprint’ to ‘speak up’.
She said: ‘This is an issue and we have been clear about this, this is an issue that is inhumane it is abhorrent and we should not be using people, migrants, who are fleeing communism as a political pawn.’
VP Harris has remained silent on the issue when she entered the Naval Observatory on Friday, after refusing to answer questions on the issue on Thursday.
However her husband Doug Emhoff said: ‘I do have a reaction. I think it was shameful. These are human beings. These are people.
‘They needed to be treated with dignity and kindness and respect and they weren’t.
‘And we have so-called leaders in this country who, rather than focusing on what’s good for the public within their own states, they’re using people as pawns for a political stunt.’
Keith Chatinover, a Democrat county commissioner for the area, made comments previously that he would ‘love’ to make the area a ‘haven’ for immigrants.
His comments came in response to Sen Ted Cruz’s pushing a bill for Democrat-led areas to become post of entry for processing migrants.
But he now appears unhappy at having his wish granted, and has retweeted attacks against the Florida governor of being a fascist and human trafficker for sending migrants to the billionaires’ enclave.
He told the MVTimes in October 2021: ‘I would love Martha’s Vineyard to become a haven for new immigrants to this country, but Senator Cruz has no idea what he’s talking about regarding a ‘border crisis.’
But now he is being called out for the comments, after branding DeSantis a ‘fascist’ for escalating the immigration war with Democrat-run areas.
Cruz tweeted that he was ‘confused’ over Chatinover slamming DeSantis for flying the illegal immigrants into the area.
Chatinover tweeted that he does ‘support refugee resettlement’ but has an issue when they are not given ‘advance notice’ to ‘adequately help’ the migrants.
He added that the chaos of the situation for the Republicans to ‘prove a point’ was a ‘blatant disregard’ for human rights.
Chatinover retweeted someone else who called DeSantis ‘fascist scum’ who said he should be ‘prosecuted for human trafficking.’