A young girl is seen standing in a shelter in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., after she and dozens of other migrants arrived by plane unannounced on Wednesday.
Eve Zuckoff/WCAI
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A young girl is seen standing in a shelter in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., after she and dozens of other migrants arrived by plane unannounced on Wednesday.
Eve Zuckoff/WCAI
MARTHA’S VINEYARD, Mass. — About 50 migrants arrived by plane in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., on Wednesday on flights paid for by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and originating in San Antonio, Texas.
The migrants crashed at around 15:15 local time. Later Wednesday, a spokesman for DeSantis sent a statement to NPR and other media outlets confirming that the migrants were transported from Florida under a state program that was funded by the Legislature earlier this year. The statement reads in part: “States like Massachusetts, New York and California will better facilitate the care of these individuals they have invited into our country by encouraging illegal immigration.”
Flight trackers show two flights took off from San Antonio around 8 a.m. local time Wednesday.
A number of migrants told NPR that their flight originated in San Antonio and that they were being transported to Boston, not Tuesday’s Vineyard.
A flight took off from San Antonio and made a stop in Florida and South Carolina before landing in Martha’s Vineyard. The second flight also stopped in Florida, but made another stop in Charlotte, North Carolina before landing in Martha’s Vineyard.
A spokesman for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said his office was not directly involved in the plans.
“Our office has had conversations with Governor DeSantis and his team about supporting our busing strategy to provide needed relief to our overburdened and underserved border communities,” the spokesperson said. “Although we were not involved in these initial flights to Martha’s Vineyard, we appreciate the support to respond to this national crisis and help Texans. Governor Abbott encourages and welcomes all other governors to engage in this effort to to secure the border and to focus on the failure and illegal efforts of the Biden-Harris administration to continue these reckless open border policies.”
The unannounced flight drew the ire of Massachusetts officials.
“We have the governor of Florida … hatching a secret plot to ship immigrant families like cattle on a plane,” said Rep. Dylan Fernandes, who represents Martha’s Vineyard. “To send women and children to a place where they were not told where they were going and never notified local officials and people on the ground that they were coming. It’s an incredibly inhumane and depraved thing to do.”
NPR was able to interview three of the migrants late Wednesday. “They (the migrants) told us they had recently crossed the border into Texas and were staying at a shelter in San Antonio,” NPR’s Joel Rose said. Morning edition.
The migrants said a woman they identified as “Pearl” approached them outside the shelter and lured them onto a plane, saying they would fly to Boston where they could get expedited work papers. She provided them with food. Migrants said Perla was still trying to recruit more passengers just hours before their flight.
Two boys are shown staying at a shelter in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., after they and dozens of other migrants arrived unannounced by plane on Wednesday.
Eve Zuckoff/WCAI
hide title
change the subtitles
Eve Zuckoff/WCAI
Two boys are shown staying at a shelter in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., after they and dozens of other migrants arrived unannounced by plane on Wednesday.
Eve Zuckoff/WCAI
Andres Duarte, a 30-year-old Venezuelan, said he recently crossed the border into Texas and eventually went to a shelter in San Antonio.
“She (Perla) offered us help. Help that never came,” Andres said. “Now we’re here. We got on the plane with a vision for the future, to do it.” He went on to explain why he boarded the plane with so little information in hand. “Look, when you have no money and someone offers to help, it means a lot.”
On Martha’s Vineyard, migrants are staying at a church shelter while local authorities and nonprofits figure out what happens next. Lisa Belcastro, who runs a homeless shelter on the island, said resources were scarce at first.
“Everything from beds to food to clothing to toothbrushes to toothpaste to blankets to sheets. I mean, we had some of them … but we didn’t have the numbers that we needed.”
Most of the newcomers spoke little or no English, and Spanish-speaking high school students were pressed into service as interpreters.
Edgartown Police Chief Bruce McNamee said many of the immigrants were confused.
“We’ve talked to a number of people who have asked, ‘Where am I?’ And then I was trying to explain where Martha’s Vineyard is.”
Wednesday’s flight extends a tactic Republican politicians in mostly southern states have used to send immigrants to Democratic-controlled cities in the north. Republican leaders have used the move to protest the rise in illegal immigration during President Biden’s time in office, and the issue appears to be important in November’s midterm elections.
Martha’s Vineyard has a reputation as a destination for the progressive elite, and DeSantis has regularly brought up the island enclave at his press conferences. Republican governors in Texas and Arizona have also transported immigrants from the border to northern cities at taxpayer expense.
Democrats and immigrant advocates say those governors are essentially using immigrants as political hostages. But governors say they’re just drawing attention to a very real problem.
The US Border Patrol is on pace to record 2 million arrests in a fiscal year for the first time ever.
Belcastro, who runs the Martha’s Vineyard shelter where the migrants spent the night, said the group is resilient.
“There are some really sad stories. And then some people, the only thing they were expressing is how grateful they are to be here, to be safe, and to be taken care of, right? And, you know, the needs theirs are immense now.”
NPR spoke with Yesica, an immigrant who gave only her first name because of her undocumented immigration status. She said she was unsure about her future.
“Oh, my God. I don’t know what’s going to happen to us,” Yesica said, speaking in Spanish. “The truth is, I’m worried. It’ll be whatever God wants, won’t it? We’re here now and there’s nothing we can do.”
“Not even to take a step back,” she added.
Eve Zuckoff is a reporter at WCAI.
