All you need to do is to look at them; a little girl with braided hair and a pink outfit, two young people Admiring the jackets he was given, the mechanic tells the reporter in Spanish that he is grateful for the help he received.

These are human beings who are no different than anyone else except that they come from Venezuela, a place that makes up the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom. is included in the lists of the 32 most free economy among 32 American countries. This is a nation, the index notes, struggling with hyperinflation, repression, massive national debt and a general lack of confidence in the rule of law.

“I came here on foot,” a man named Elias told the Vineyard Gazette, which covers Martha’s Vineyard. “We went through 10 different countries until we got to Texas.”

How far would you go for freedom?

Details of how two planes carrying refugees ended up on a remote Massachusetts island last week are unclear. They claim to have come from San Antonio, but the governor of Florida. Ron DeSantis takes credit for sending them.

However, the reasons why they ended up there are obvious. Martha’s Vineyard is a vacation spot for the wealthy, and often wealthy Democrats. Former president Barack Obama I have a house there. The Clintons rested there. DeSantis, a Republican, apparently sent the refugees there as a statement, just as he and other governors have sent buses with refugees, unannounced to Washington, New York and Chicago.

I’ve heard pundits say that, if nothing else, the stunt started a national dialogue about immigration. I don’t agree. All it did was reignite the national shouting match, with all sides retreating into foxholes and throwing the familiar grenades. These are grenades with bomb words like “amnesty” and “border wall”. Nobody listens. No one is trying to find a solution.

And in the middle are people who are looking for a better life, endlessly grateful for every little thing and every little opportunity they get.

Site for Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity at Trinity International University said: “Human dignity is the recognition that human beings possess a special value inherent in their humanity and as such are worthy of respect simply because they are human.” It goes on to say that the basis for this is that we were created in the image of God.

But in war, whether real with bullets and bombs or political, where the opponents are demons, human dignity is often the first casualty. Seeing yourself in other people complicates things, stirs emotions and confuses rigid ideologies.

In this case, the states where the confused and tired refugees were sent can be grateful beneficiaries. Statistics show that immigrants contribute greatly to the local economy, especially during a severe labor crisis.

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities said about 27.2 million foreign-born adults were employed in the United States in 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. They work in many important low-skilled jobs and in many ways contribute to jobs held by natives.

But of course they need a clear path to legal entry and work. Border security and processes are not bad.

Governors who use these people as political cannon fodder represent Americans who truly feel trapped by a border system that is underfunded and understaffed, and a border immigration system that is broken. DeSantis’ methods are rough and tough, but the problem is real and can be solved, and it should involve every state.

Congress holds the key, but its strategy, as with many other divisive issues, is to assign blame, use the issue to raise money and promote solutions on the White House and the courts. A prime example is how the children of undocumented immigrants, often referred to as “Dreamers,” have been pushed.

Congress failed on this issue, so President Obama issued an executive order that granted these children temporary legal status, provided they either graduate from high school or are honorably discharged from the military and that they successfully pass background checks.

The Trump administration sued to overturn it and failed in the Supreme Courtbut the issue will have no sense of permanence or closure unless Congress takes action.

In Martha’s Vineyard, people rallied to help refugees who were dropped off at their doorstep. They were provided with the help of the local church. Life for both residents and refugees improved, even as the island’s tourist season ended and refugees were sent on to Joint Base Cape Cod.

One community member told CNN he was heartbroken by a woman who showed him pictures on her phone of people who died during their journey through thick mud in the jungles of Central America.

What would you suffer for freedom? Or, perhaps more importantly, what do the people who endure all this for asylum have to offer the United States?

All you need to do is to look at them; a little girl with braided hair and a pink outfit, two young people Admiring the jackets he was given, the mechanic tells the reporter in Spanish that he is grateful for the help he received.

These are human beings who are no different than anyone else except that they come from Venezuela, a place that makes up the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom. is included in the lists of the 32 most free economy among 32 American countries. This is a nation, the index notes, struggling with hyperinflation, repression, massive national debt and a general lack of confidence in the rule of law.

“I came here on foot,” a man named Elias told the Vineyard Gazette, which covers Martha’s Vineyard. “We went through 10 different countries until we got to Texas.”

How far would you go for freedom?

Details of how two planes carrying refugees ended up on a remote Massachusetts island last week are unclear. They claim to have come from San Antonio, but the governor of Florida. Ron DeSantis takes credit for sending them.

However, the reasons why they ended up there are obvious. Martha’s Vineyard is a vacation spot for the wealthy, and often wealthy Democrats. Former president Barack Obama I have a house there. The Clintons rested there. DeSantis, a Republican, apparently sent the refugees there as a statement, just as he and other governors have sent buses with refugees, unannounced to Washington, New York and Chicago.

I’ve heard pundits say that, if nothing else, the stunt started a national dialogue about immigration. I don’t agree. All it did was reignite the national shouting match, with all sides retreating into foxholes and throwing the familiar grenades. These are grenades with bomb words like “amnesty” and “border wall”. Nobody listens. No one is trying to find a solution.

And in the middle are people who are looking for a better life, endlessly grateful for every little thing and every little opportunity they get.

Site for Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity at Trinity International University said: “Human dignity is the recognition that human beings possess a special value inherent in their humanity and as such are worthy of respect simply because they are human.” It goes on to say that the basis for this is that we were created in the image of God.

But in war, whether real with bullets and bombs or political, where the opponents are demons, human dignity is often the first casualty. Seeing yourself in other people complicates things, stirs emotions and confuses rigid ideologies.

In this case, the states where the confused and tired refugees were sent can be grateful beneficiaries. Statistics show that immigrants contribute greatly to the local economy, especially during a severe labor crisis.

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities said about 27.2 million foreign-born adults were employed in the United States in 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. They work in many important low-skilled jobs and in many ways contribute to jobs held by natives.

But of course they need a clear path to legal entry and work. Border security and processes are not bad.

Governors who use these people as political cannon fodder represent Americans who truly feel trapped by a border system that is underfunded and understaffed, and a border immigration system that is broken. DeSantis’ methods are rough and tough, but the problem is real and can be solved, and it should involve every state.

Congress holds the key, but its strategy, as with many other divisive issues, is to assign blame, use the issue to raise money and promote solutions on the White House and the courts. A prime example is how the children of undocumented immigrants, often referred to as “Dreamers,” have been pushed.

Congress failed on this issue, so President Obama issued an executive order that granted these children temporary legal status, provided they either graduate from high school or are honorably discharged from the military and that they successfully pass background checks.

The Trump administration sued to overturn it and failed in the Supreme Courtbut the issue will have no sense of permanence or closure unless Congress takes action.

In Martha’s Vineyard, people rallied to help refugees who were dropped off at their doorstep. They were provided with the help of the local church. Life for both residents and refugees improved, even as the island’s tourist season ended and refugees were sent on to Joint Base Cape Cod.

One community member told CNN he was heartbroken by a woman who showed him pictures on her phone of people who died during their journey through thick mud in the jungles of Central America.

What would you suffer for freedom? Or, perhaps more importantly, what do the people who endure all this for asylum have to offer the United States?