DeSantis deploys extra soldiers after Haitians pull up in boat with guns; might send illegal aliens to Martha's Vineyard

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Haiti's implosion was years in the making. The country's president was assassinated on July 7, 2021. The next month, the island was rocked by a devastating earthquake, which killed more than 2,200 people. In the years since, the island nation has been gripped by a nightmarish confluence of crime and bloodshed.

While NBC News recently reassured its audience that the cannibal gangsters of yesteryear are not presently prowling the body-strewn streets of Port-au-Prince looking for their next meal, criminals have nevertheless taken over the country's capital, freed thousands of felons from jail, engaged in systematic rape, forced the prime minister to resign, and threatened genocide.

Recent news of both a Haitian illegal alien's alleged rape of a girl in Massachusetts and the attempt by a boat containing Haitian migrants and guns to reach Florida shores appears to indicate the failed nation has begun to export its problems.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has made clear he won't tolerate this risk to his state.

DeSantis reiterated last week, "In Florida, we do not tolerate illegal immigration, let alone lawlessness committed by illegal aliens who shouldn't be here in the first place."

In addition to deploying more soldiers to protect the coastline, the Republican leader has indicated he'll bus the Haitian arrivals who managed to steal into the country over to Martha's Vineyard. After all, the elite liberal enclave is home to at least three towns that have adopted sanctuary policies in recent years.

Armed invaders

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission revealed last week that a pair of officers conducting nighttime water-based patrol near Sebastien Inlet on Feb. 29 stopped a 42-foot boat containing dozens of Haitian migrants along with weaponry.

"In their boat, in their vessel, they had firearms, they had guns, they had night vision gear and were boating very recklessly, which would potentially endanger other folks," the governor told reporters during a March 15 press conference.

Two among the 25 individuals aboard the boat were American citizens, both of whom were turned over to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office. DeSantis indicated the the Haitian migrants were turned over to the U.S. Coast Guard for deportation.

Bolstering defenses

Prior to publicly acknowledging the Feb. 29 incident, DeSantis announced that in anticipation of a flood of illegal aliens from Haiti, he had ordered additional state assets to the Florida Keys and the Sunshine State's southern waters.

"For quite some time, the State of Florida has been dedicating significant resources to combat illegal vessels coming to Florida from countries such as Haiti," said the governor. "Given the circumstances in Haiti, I have directed the Division of Emergency Management, the Florida State Guard, and state law enforcement agencies to deploy over 250 additional officers and soldiers and over a dozen air and sea craft to the southern coast of Florida to protect our state."

While the state already has a security presence in the area as part of Operation Vigilant Sentry, DeSantis' March 13 directive is sending additional personnel and assets to the area, including 39 additional officers from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; 23 additional officers and eight seacraft from the FFWC; 48 additional soldiers and four more helicopters from the Florida National Guard; and 30 additional officers from the Florida Highway Patrol along with more drones and aircraft.

In addition to these reinforcements, the state will send up to 133 soldiers from the Florida State Guard to protect the Keys.

Days after issuing his directive, DeSantis ratified a triad of bills to make it more difficult for illegal aliens to get around the state: House Bill 1589, which increases penalties on individuals who operate a vehicle without a license; House Bill 1451, which prevents counties and cities from accepting identification cards issued to illegal aliens by other jurisdictions; and SB 1036, which enhances penalties for a crime committed by an illegal alien who was previously deported.

Giving sanctuaries what they asked for

In recent years, Texas, Florida, and other border states have sent illegal aliens packing to those Democrat-run municipalities that have branded themselves sanctuaries for those who would flout the laws of the land.

This campaign has been greatly successful, not only in giving northern cities a taste of what border states have long had to deal with, but in proving leftists' sanctuary rhetoric hollow. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, for instance, called last month for changes to the city's "sanctuary" policy. Chicago recently began evicting illegal aliens from its overwhelmed shelters.

DeSantis told conservative radio host Dana Loesch this week that the Sunshine State may begin busing illegal aliens from Haiti to Martha's Vineyard.

The Republican governor bused around 50 illegal aliens to Martha's Vineyard in 2022. The liberal enclave was quick to get rid of the migrants, who were whisked to a military base shortly after their arrival.

The governor told Loesch that if Haitians manage to get into Florida, the Sunshine State can't simply fly them back to Haiti "because the federal government is going to tell the host countries not to accept our planes."

"We really have to get them before they reach the shores, which is why we're working so hard to do that," said DeSantis. "Although I will say this, we do have our transport program, also, that's going to be operational. So, Haitians land in the Florida Keys, their next stop very well might be Martha's Vineyard."

\ud83d\udea8 BREAKING\ud83d\udea8\n\n"Haitians land in Florida Keys, their next stop very well be Martha's Vineyard" ~ @RonDeSantis \n\n #DanaRadio\n\nPodcast: https://t.co/HHFoIyoQxb
— (@)

Massachusetts — which has effectively been a sanctuary state since 2017 — is already overwhelmed by illegal aliens, and it's proving to be exceptionally costly.

Democratic Gov. Maura Healey's finance and housing secretaries indicated in December that the projected cost of sheltering migrants in fiscal year 2025 will be an estimated $915 million.

DeSantis also told Loesch that Florida will not be welcoming prospective waves of migrants from Haiti.

"I've got to defend my state," said the governor. "I've got enough issues just dealing with people fleeing from blue states moving into Florida."

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Ron DeSantis Says Martha’s Vineyard Is The ‘Next Stop’ For Haitian Migrants

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Biden admin lumped elite liberal enclaves in with 'low-income' areas, allowing them to exploit EV subsidies: Report

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Martha's Vineyard is a predominantly Democratic haven off the coast of Massachusetts where the average asking price for new house listings is apparently over $2.3 million and the average household income is well over $130,000. The island is home to scores of multimillionaires and one of climate-conscious former President Barack Obama's numerous abodes — an $11.75 million, 30-acre estate.

Even though the millionaire refuge managed to drive out the poor migrants who reached its shores in 2022 inside a 44-hour window, the Biden administration has nevertheless designated parts of the island "low-income" areas.

According to a report from the Daily Caller, the Biden administration has designated parts of the Vineyard; Montauk and Fishers Island in New York; Rehoboth Beach, Delaware; Beverly Hills, California; and other elite liberal enclaves thusly, meaning they can exploit electric vehicle charger subsidy programs.

President Joe Biden's so-called Inflation Reduction Act allowed for the extension and modification of the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Tax Credit.

The subsidy — "6% with a maximum credit of $100,000 for each single item of property" — is available to businesses and individuals that install EV chargers.

Last month, the Biden White House noted that the tax credit "provides up to 30% off the cost of the charger to individuals and businesses in low-income communities and non-urban areas, making it more affordable to install EV charging infrastructure and increasing access to EV charging in underserved communities."

IRS code characterizes an area as low-income if it has a poverty rate of 20% or more, reported the National Desk. Affluent areas can still qualify, as the code allows for areas with a median income south of 80% of the closest metropolitan area or city to pass as low-income.

In the case of Martha's Vineyard, the U.S. Department of Energy's 30C Tax Credit Eligibility Locator indicates the north of the island, a "census tract in Dukes County, Massachusetts (Census tract ID = 25007200100) is eligible through 2024 because it meets the definition of 'low-income community' in Internal Revenue Code section 45D(e)."

Half of Nantucket Island, another swanky summer destination for cosmopolitan elites, is also eligible for charger subsidies on account of its "low-income" status.

The Caller indicated that parts of Cape Cod have similarly been zoned "low-income," including Hyannis, the stomping grounds of the Kennedy dynasty.

The Caller indicated that the DOE did not respond to requests for comment.

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'I don’t want to leave': Migrants whom DeSantis sent to Martha's Vineyard love their new life on the luxury island

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Democrats accused Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) of kidnapping migrants when he sent two planes of migrants to Martha's Vineyard last year.

But the New York Times recently spoke to some of those migrants who say they're happy about coming to the luxury island, don't want to leave, and now call it "home."

What is the background?

Last September, Florida sent 49 migrants to Martha's Vineyard, triggering liberal weeping and gnashing of teeth. Democrats claimed the migrants were "tricked" or "deceived" and accused DeSantis of kidnapping them.

Lawsuits were filed, the Massachusetts U.S. attorney (who resigned in May over allegations of ethics violation and misconduct) promised to investigate to the fullest extent of the law, and the flights ultimately resulted in criminal charges being filed in Bexar County, Texas (though law enforcement refuses to say who was officially charged).

The allegations, of course, were more bark than bite. DeSantis later released proof that the migrants traveled willingly.

What are the migrants saying?

Most of the migrants sent to Martha's Vineyard later left. But some stayed — and they're happy with their new life.

The New York Times chatted with several of those migrants, who acquired jobs and their own housing and transportation on the island.

Deici Cauro, from Venezuela, told the Times she doesn't want to leave.

"I did not even know where Martha's Vineyard was. And now I feel welcomed by everybody here. I'm working, making friends and this is home for me now," Cauro said. "This is home now. I don’t want to leave."

Cauro's brother, Daniel, and cousin, Eliud Aguilar, remain on the island with her. She found a job in landscaping, while her cousin and brother work in painting and roofing.

"We came here to work in any job, no matter how hard," she told the newspaper. "We are just happy to be living here."

While reporter Edgar Sandoval was meeting with the migrants, Daniel's 2-year-old son called from Venezuela. During that call, the son asked his father when he would return home.

"I'm already home," Daniel replied, promising his family they would soon be reunited.

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