White House Responds After Illegal Immigrants Transported to Martha’s Vineyard

The White House sharply criticized the governors of Texas and Florida for transporting illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard and outside the Washington residence of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed Thursday that he bused illegal immigrants from the border to near Harris’s home in the District of Columbia. And Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took credit for flying dozens of illegal aliens from Florida to Martha’s Vineyard, a Massachusetts island that often draws the wealthy and powerful, including the Obamas, who own an estate there.

Illegal immigrants deserve better “than being left on the streets of D.C. or the streets of Martha’s Vineyard,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in response to a question about the governors’ recent actions.

Jean-Pierre then alleged the governors are “using migrants as political pawns” and described the incident as “reckless” and “shameful.”

For weeks, Abbott has sent dozens of buses filled with illegal immigrants—who he says voluntarily sign up for the trip—to New York, Washington, and Chicago. Top Democrat officials have decried the tactic and have even issued emergency declarations.

But Abbott, DeSantis, and other Republicans assert that the Biden administration’s policies on illegal immigration are deeply flawed and noted that after the White House rolled back Trump-era immigration rules, the number of illegal aliens crossing the border skyrocketed.

Illegal immigrants from Central and South America wait near the residence of Vice President Kamala Harris after being dropped off in Washington on Sept. 15, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) Illegal immigrants from Venezuela, who boarded a bus in Texas, wait to be transported to a local church by volunteers after being dropped off outside the residence of Vice President Kamala Harris at the Naval Observatory in Washington on Sept. 15, 2022. (Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

Abbott, whose state has a