Migrants flown to Martha's Vineyard take ferry, bus to new Massachusetts shelter on Cape Cod
Dozens of Venezuelan migrants who were unexpectedly flown to Martha's Vineyard earlier this week departed the Massachusetts island on Friday. They moved by ferry and bus to a new shelter arranged by the state on Cape Cod.
Gov. Charlie Baker said the group was being offered housing and support services at Joint Base Cape Cod. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency coordinated efforts among state and local officials to provide access to food, shelter and essential services.
The group of about 50 migrants, some of them children, arrived aboard charter flights paid for by Florida on Wednesday evening. They originated their journey in Texas, were then flown to Florida and then to the Vineyard.
Many members of the group boarded a ferry on Martha's Vineyard and made the trip to Woods Hole, where they were taken by bus to JBCC in Buzzards Bay.
"Wherever life puts me, I will work doing anything, I will learn whatever I need to. Anything," Rafael, one of the migrants, said during an interview aboard the ferry on Friday.
Baker said the island community was not equipped to provide sustainable accommodations but emphasized that the move to JBCC was voluntary.
Since their arrival, Martha’s Vineyard residents have joined with local and state officials to create temporary shelter and provide necessities in a moment of urgent need.
“We are grateful to the providers, volunteers and local officials that stepped up on Martha’s Vineyard over the past few days to provide immediate services to these individuals,” Baker said in a statement. “Our administration has been working across state government to develop a plan to ensure these individuals will have access to the services they need going forward, and Joint Base Cape Cod is well equipped to serve these needs.”
The individuals and families will be housed in dormitory-style spaces at JBCC, with separate spaces accommodating both individuals and families. Families will not be separated, officials said.
Baker said he also has plans to activate up to 125 members of the Massachusetts National Guard as part of the relief effort.
The group’s journey has been scrutinized by immigration lawyers, who said a brochure the migrants were given about where they were going contained misleading information to set them up for failure.
"Accounts from the migrants who arrived [Wednesday] night, make it clear that they were lied to again and again and fraudulently induced to board the planes," Rachel Self, who operates an immigration law firm in Boston, said from Martha’s Vineyard.
The migrants told WCVB that a woman in Texas approached them and told them to get on board the two chartered planes. They say they had no idea they'd be landing on Martha's Vineyard.
"In Texas they tricked us, they treated us well, but they tricked us. We were part of a political movement, that honestly is not about supporting, there are no ethics in politics. We are people, we are humans, we have rights, they should not have used us in that way," said Pablo, one of the migrants, during an interview aboard the ferry on Friday.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for reelection this year and is a potential 2024 presidential contender, has repeatedly criticized President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.
During an event on Thursday, DeSantis said his office has "worked on innovative ways to be able to protect the state of Florida from the impact of Biden's border policies."
"If you have folks that are inclined to think Florida's a good place, our message to them is we are not a sanctuary state, and it's better to be able to go to a sanctuary jurisdiction. And yes, we will help facilitate that transport for you to be able to go to greener pastures," DeSantis said.
The governor's spokesperson said in a statement that the Florida Legislature appropriated $12 million to implement a program to facilitate the transport of undocumented immigrants from the state.