Posted on Thursday, June 12, 2025
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by Outside Contributor
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In the idyllic enclave of Martha’s Vineyard, where manicured lawns and oceanfront estates define a certain American dream, residents have recently voiced outrage over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of illegal aliens on their island.
The criticism is rich with irony, especially when viewed through the lens of 2022, when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sent a group of illegal aliens to the island. Back then, the Vineyard’s compassionate facade crumbled swiftly. Within 48 hours, the migrants were whisked off to a military base on Cape Cod, revealing an ugly truth: the island’s elite are happy to champion unregulated borders in theory, but when faced with the reality of migration, they prefer it to remain someone else’s problem.
This episode exposes a broader hypocrisy among America’s wealthy elites, who often advocate for lax immigration policies while shielding themselves from the consequences. Martha’s Vineyard, a playground for the affluent, is Exhibit A for this disconnect. Its residents, many of whom are vocal proponents of a far-left progressive worldview, were quick to decry ICE’s actions as inhumane. Yet, their response to DeSantis’s charter exposed their unwillingness to grapple with the practical implications of mass migration. The migrants, initially welcomed with photo-op gestures of goodwill, were promptly removed when their presence threatened the island’s pristine image. This is not compassion, but performative virtue.
The Vineyard’s reaction is a microcosm of a larger pattern. Wealthy elites across the country often support illegal mass migration, not out of altruistic zeal, but because they benefit from the cheap labor illegal immigration provides. Domestic workers, landscapers, and service industry employees—often in the country illegally—keep their households running smoothly at a fraction of the cost of citizen labor.
Comments from one-percenters like Nancy Pelosi, who once mused about the need for migrants to “pick our crops,” or Kelly Osbourne, who infamously asked, “If you kick every Latino out of this country, then who is going to be cleaning your toilet?” reveal an unpleasant fact. To many elites, illegal aliens are a convenient serf class, valued for their labor but unwelcome as neighbors.
Meanwhile, ordinary Americans bear the brunt of surrendered borders. In communities far from the gated estates of the Vineyard, mass migration has driven up crime rates, strained social services, and exacerbated housing shortages. Schools in working-class neighborhoods struggle with overcrowding, while hospitals face longer wait times and stretched budgets. The law of supply and demand dictates that adding large numbers of people in need of housing will drive up housing costs.
Wages, too, stagnate as low-skill workers compete with an influx of cheap labor. After almost four years of Biden-era anti-border policies, an August 2024 jobs report showed that native-born Americans lost more than 1.3 million jobs over the previous 12 months, while foreign-born workers gained more than 1.2 million jobs. These are not abstract statistics or theories; they are the lived realities of millions of Americans who do not have the luxury of retreating to summer homes.
Contrast this with the broader American sentiment. Polls consistently show that a majority of citizens support stricter immigration policies. A July 2024 Gallup poll found that 62 percent of Americans favor stronger border enforcement, including deportations, a cornerstone of the Trump administration’s approach.
Martha’s Vineyard’s outrage over ICE arrests is not only hypocritical, it also reveals a deeper disconnect. The island’s residents want the moral high ground without the mess. They champion loose borders from their ivory towers, but when migrants arrive at their doorstep, they are quick to call for their removal. This is a defense of privilege, not human rights.
America can no longer afford the elite’s double standards. The Trump administration’s policies, while generating vociferous criticism from a loud minority, reflect a growing consensus that borders must be secured, and immigration must serve the nation’s interests, not just those of the wealthy.
The Vineyard’s residents may clutch their pearls at ICE’s presence, but their complaints ring hollow. They have shown they are unwilling to live with the consequences of the policies they endorse. It is time for our government to prioritize the needs of ordinary Americans over the whims of the elite. The tide is turning, and the era of unchecked migration is coming to an end. Americans have had enough.
Dale L. Wilcox is executive director and general counsel for the Immigration Reform Law Institute, a public interest law firm working to defend the rights and interests of the American people from the negative effects of mass migration.
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
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