EDITORIAL: Illegal immigrants welcome … to leave Martha’s Vineyard

Wealthy progressives may finally be ready to build a wall — around Martha’s Vineyard.

On Wednesday, around 50 illegal immigrants showed up in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. They didn’t float over to the ritzy island. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flew them there. He’s one of a handful of Republican governors moving illegal immigrants to sanctuary destinations. The leaders of these sanctuary states and localities are frequently quick to talk up the need for America to take in more people from other countries. That includes Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. She once called for raising the cap on refugees and welcoming more immigrants seeking asylum. She also wanted a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. The Biden administration’s embrace of policies like these have incentivized record amounts of illegal immigration.

One might have expected the residents of Martha’s Vineyard to be excited then for a chance to put their liberal values into action. Or they could have celebrated their locale’s newly increased diversity. The island is around 90 percent white with just 2 percent of residents being Hispanics. Most of the illegal immigrants are from Venezuela.

Instead, there was outrage.

“Exploiting vulnerable people for political stunts is repulsive and cruel,” Ms. Warren tweeted.

That’s an odd way to describe giving people a free ticket to an island paradise. The Obamas paid almost $12 million for a beachfront estate on Martha’s Vineyard, never mind all that talk about global warming and rising sea levels. Although, if the water gets too high, Barack Obama could always stand on the shore and give a speech.

Perhaps what Ms. Warren meant is that it’s “repulsive and cruel” to the residents of Martha’s Vineyard. After all, one of the reasons that people like the Obamas pay millions of dollars for vast estates is to avoid the commoners.

That was certainly the attitude of Lisa Belcastro, who helps coordinate homeless housing. She praised town residents for stepping up to provide for the illegal aliens. Then she added, “At some point in time, they have to move from here to somewhere else.”

Move they did. Within two days, Republican Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker activated the National Guard to shuttle the migrants off the island.

Incredible. For 50 migrants. Democrats have barely batted an eye about 2 million migrants entering the country illegally. But when 50 of them show up on Martha’s Vineyard, it demands immediate action.

Now, Ms. Warren is right that there’s an element of politics here. Mr. DeSantis and other Republican governors have long tried to make coastal Democrats care about the porous border.

The number of illegal immigrants in El Paso, Texas, is so high that officials have released more than 1,000 people onto the streets. Some are living under overpasses or in tents on the sidewalks. Many would like to go somewhere else, but can’t afford to. Similar situations happen up and down the border.

That reality didn’t keep Vice President Kamala Harris from recently claiming that the border is “secure.” Since most Democrats won’t travel to the border or acknowledge these basic realities, Mr. DeSantis brought the tiniest taste of the border to them.

As a result, Mr. DeSantis pulled off one of the most effective political object lessons in recent history. Sanctuary city advocates couldn’t live with the results of their policy for even 48 hours. That’s a sure sign it’s time to reevaluate the merits of an idea.

This isn’t the only example of progressives wanting to avoid the consequences of their own policies. There are “defund the police” advocates who protect themselves with private security. Democrats send their children to private schools, while opposing school choice for poor and minority students. Liberals in California and New York applaud higher taxes and demand the reinstatement of the SALT deduction. Global warming is a crisis, but not enough to stop the world’s elite from flying on private jets to conferences discussing the need to cut carbon emissions.

Sometimes the best way to change a policy is to make those who promote it live with its consequences.