Hillary Clinton has branded the situation in Martha’s Vineyard “literally human trafficking” after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis unexpectedly flew a group of migrants to the Massachusetts island.
The former secretary of state appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Friday morning where she agreed with host Joe Scarborough that the migrants were being “taken advantage of” by Republican lawmakers.
The former first lady, who has holidayed on the island for years, said that “no one” with knowledge of the immigration system “wants open borders” but “nobody wants inhumane terrible treatment of human beings either” – as she said that it is part of the “American spirit” to help people in need.
“You have laid out the craziness of the time in which we’re living where some politicians would rather not only have an issue but exacerbate it to the extent of literally human trafficking,” she said.
“So many other Americans — I happen to believe still the majority of Americans — are good-hearted and generous and when people end up on their doorstep in need, they’re going to respond.
“They’ll feed them and house them and the kids in the AP Spanish class will be let out of high school so they can go and translate.
“That’s the kind of American spirit that we try to celebrate at the Clinton Global Initiative. Let’s roll up our sleeves and get things done.”
Within hours of Mr DeSantis abandoning around 50 migrants on Martha’s Vineyard on Thursday, the close-knit community had rallied around to help the newcomers.
Donations of food and clothing poured in so quickly that – within hours – town officials announced on social media that they didn’t need any more goods.
Ms Clinton went on to describe how efforts to try to bring about immigration reform have fallen short over the years.
“Because Joe it is so clear that despite efforts – and when I was in the Senate, I think probably when you were in Congress – there was a lot of talk about immigration reform and we kept trying to get close, and the Senate when I was there we passed a bill to actually deal with this,” she said.
“Nobody wants open borders who has any idea of how government and countries work.
"But nobody wants inhumane terrible treatment of human beings either.”
Ms Clinton took aim at Texas Governor Greg Abbott who she said “would rather have an issue” than find a solution.
“What we should have been doing is to come together to reform change and better fund the system by which we deal with these issues,” she said.
“But some people, like the governor of Texas, would rather have an issue than be part of a solution.”
On Thursday, Mr DeSantis paid to send two planes carrying migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, landing entirely unannounced on the small island in a move slammed by Democrats as “inhumane”.
The migrants told reporters that they had been misled to get them to board the planes, with promises of work permits and other assistance on their arrival.
Mr DeSantis’s actions marked just the latest move from GOP governors to transport migrants to Democrat-led cities and states in the north of the country in a pushback against the Biden administration’s immigration policies.
As well as Mr DeSantis’s flights to Martha’s Vineyard, Mr Abbott sent two buses of migrants to Vice President Kamala Harris’s home in Washington DC this week.
President Joe Biden described the Republican governors’ actions as “political stunts” and “un-American”, where innocent migrants are being used as pawns in the GOP’s political games.
“Republicans are playing politics with human beings, using them as props,” he said at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s annual gala on Thursday.
Hours ealier, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Mr DeSantis had placed innocent children in danger to use them as “political pawns”.
On Friday, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s office announced that the migrants will be voluntarily moved from the island to a shelter supported by state agencies in Cape Cod.
Around 125 members of the Massachusetts National Guard have also been activated as part of relief efforts to help provide for the newcomers.
Federal officials are now investigating the Florida governor for kidnapping.
