Headline RoundupSeptember 21st, 2022

Hypocrisy or Hospitality? How Martha's Vineyard Responded to Migrant Arrivals

Summary from the AllSides News Team

Last week, 48 Venezuelan migrants arrived in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts as part of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's response to the immigration crisis at the southern border. How did the island react?

Regional media reported on how some locals donated food and clothes and helped set up a shelter with beds for the migrants soon after they arrived. Videos of Vineyard residents interacting with the migrants were shared thousands of times on social media. Two days after arriving, the migrants were moved to a military base on the mainland. 

Right-rated news sources and voices usually framed the sanctuary community of Martha's Vineyard as hypocritical for supporting open immigration policy but purportedly rejecting migrants who arrived last week. Many cited the military base relocation and an apparent lack of job offers or long-term housing options as evidence of the hypocrisy. Conversely, left-rated media focused more on reports of warm welcomes, and framed the right's response as inaccurate. Some, such as one Vox (Left bias) writer, cautioned that a nice response from locals doesn't mean they support policies "needed to support the masses of migrants" seeking a better life in the U.S. What happens to migrants after they've been transferred to sanctuary cities has been a focus for sources across the spectrum.

A YouGov/The Economist poll conducted this week found that 44% of respondents approved of Florida sending migrants to sanctuary cities without notice, while an equal share disapproved.

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