and he pointed out the emptiness of hypocritical words most plastically on Martha's Vineyard,

According to the European Court of Justice, Hungary violated EU law by introducing restrictions on illegal migrants. In response, the government would transport the migrants to Brussels with buses labeled Röszke-Brussels. However, the migrant bus method is not at all unknown: it is used by several US states bordering Mexico, in protest against the pro-immigration policy of the Democratic White House.

Led by Republican Greg Abbott, Texas has transported more than 119,000 migrants to the country's major cities since April 2022. The seriousness of the situation is also indicated by the numbers: the state launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021, during which more than 518,000 illegal immigrants have already been apprehended, and the number of arrested criminals has exceeded 46,000.

The Texas government clearly blames the open border policies of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the migrant crisis.

Greg Abbott repeatedly emphasized that illegal immigration affects precisely those states that say no to immigration.

"We're sending them to the U.S. capital, where the Biden administration will be able to immediately meet the needs of the people they're letting through their border."

- said the governor, indicating that the White House will thus have the opportunity to directly experience the consequences of its actions. According to Texas Representative Davis Spiller, also a Republican, the method can draw attention to the seriousness of the border situation, which by the way soon had results:

More than 33,000 people arrived in Chicago, for example, and in January, referring to the winter cold, JB Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, asked to stop the transport of migrants.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis, also a Democrat, asked for financial help from the American leadership.

Martha's Vineyard's Case for Open Borders and Inclusion

Martha's Vineyard on the Atlantic Ocean has only 1,700 permanent residents, but the tourist paradise is visited by up to 200,000 during the summer. No wonder. Beautiful beach, huge green area, cozy little streets, restaurants, cafes. It was home to Jacqueline Kennedy, later Barack Obama, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, screenwriter Larry David, creator of the Seinfeld series. Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary vacationed here every year during his presidency. The democratic inhabitants of the small island shared the worldview of the elders in the fight for diversity, equality, and human rights. They unanimously condemned Trump's exclusion, the racist immigration policy, and wanted to provide asylum to all immigrants. It is no coincidence that in their well-kept gardens you could see signs like this, even in three languages, English, Spanish, Arabic:

"No matter where you're from, we're happy to have you as our neighbor."

Their dream could even come true, since on September 15, 2022, two planes landed on Martha's Vineyard with fifty Venezuelan refugees on board. The plane was sent by the Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, with the message that not only the border states - Texas, Arizona, Florida - bear the huge burden of illegal immigration, but also the northern states. With particular regard to those that would theoretically give shelter to all immigrants. DeSantis followed the script of the governors of Texas and Arizona, who have been transporting immigrants to the Democratic strongholds of Washington (7,400 immigrants), New York (9,000), and Chicago (600) since the summer. Recently, a migrant bus stopped in front of Kamala Harris' house in Washington after the vice president declared that the southern border was safe and there was no crisis. While according to official statistics 1.9 million people have crossed the southern border so far in 2022, only about half of them have been turned away.

Liberal big cities had to learn that immigrants must be provided with housing, food, and health care until their nearly one-year asylum application process is completed.

It is no coincidence that the mayor of New York asked for help from the federal government, the mayor of Washington declared a public health emergency, and Chicago called the National Guard for help.

However, the ideological war and rhetorical clash broke out after the Martha's Vineyard action. Democrats called the Republican governor's action a cynical political maneuver, a sadistic lie, inhumane, and shameful. The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, would initiate criminal proceedings against the governors of Texas, Arizona and Florida for kidnapping. But this could even be extended to Joe Biden, since the government also transported immigrants within the country, especially unaccompanied children.

According to conservatives, however, the hypocrisy of liberals, for whom the problems of immigrants are only theoretically important, as long as they do not disturb their comfortable lives, has become clear. In slogans, they want to be neighbors with immigrants, but if they show up in front of their doors in reality, they panic.

Wealthy Martha's Vineyard held the Venezuelan refugees for just one day, even with the help of the Episcopal Church. Not a single millionaire offered his support. The summer season was already over, most of the hotels and Airbnb rooms were empty. However, the island claimed that they were not prepared for an invasion of this size, i.e. fifty people. The very next day, the National Guard was called, which transported the Venezuelans to a military base. They are currently taking care of them. But the residents of the island lined up to wish the departing people good luck. Legal defense lawyers held a press conference.

From Syria and Afghanistan to Brussels? Growing wave of migration

Compared to last year, the number of arrivals at Hungary's southern border decreased, according to data from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), nearly 15,000 people have chosen the Balkan route so far in 2024. The reason for the decrease is that at the end of October last year, the Serbian police and gendarmerie carried out coordinated operations, during which the accommodation used by migrants was liquidated. On the part of Belgrade, the change of direction followed the fact that the control of irregular migration was now completely taken over by armed groups of people smugglers, among them former Afghan Taliban fighters.

However, the Serbian gendarmerie is no longer present in the field, and migration pressure is constantly increasing. While in the first week of 2024 there was only one prevented, prohibited border crossing, this number was already 295 in the 31st week and 249 in the 32nd week. Most of the migrants arrived at the Hungarian-Serbian border from conflict zones such as Syria and Afghanistan.

Migration Research Institute/Hungarian Nation / Index

Featured image: MTI / Kormany.hu