Some of the migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard this week said they were grateful to Florida Governor Ron Desantis, calling his move to transfer them to the posh seaside community “a stroke of good luck.”
“The life there is good,” said Eliud Alguilar, a 27-year-old from Venezuela in an interview with The Post, referring to a military base where he and the 49 other migrants were sent by Massachusetts authorities after they landed in Martha’s Vineyard this week. “They treat us well, they provided us with food and medical assistance. We are all well.”
On Wednesday, 50 migrants who arrived in the US from South America were flown by the Florida state government to the summer resort community, where former President Obama has a lavish mansion. They were taken to a nearby military base Friday where many received medical attention and cell phones to contact immigration lawyers and family members in the US, according to reports.
“It is a little bit remote,” said immigration lawyer Rachel Self. “But if they want to walk to the gate they can Uber anywhere they want to. They have been given walking around money. They’re resting, catching their breath and meeting with lawyers. They are welcome to stay there as long as they need to.”
Aguilar said Saturday that officials at Joint Base Cape Cod where the migrants are being housed also provided buses for them to go shopping for “personal stuff.”
On Saturday morning, The Post saw other migrants board yellow coaches en route to a medical center in Hyannis and to Cape Cod Mall, where Juan Carlo, 35, from Venezuela bought his 11-year-old son Sebastian a Disney book from a Target store. Outside the store, Sebastian was smiling at a map on the dust cover of “Gravity Falls Journey 3.” The father had initially tried to buy him two Lego Marvel SpiderMan sets worth $53 but had trouble with the credit card reader at the store.
Migrant crisis moves North: Here’s what’s happening around the country as border states bus migrants around the US
- Mayor Adams finally calls out Biden for border fiasco — and he has to help fix it
- Abbott says he’ll keep sending migrant buses despite Adams declaring ’emergency’
- Mayor Adams scraps Norwegian Cruise ship plan to house migrants
- Adams declares state of emergency in NYC after migrants overwhelm city
Immigration activists and Democratic politicians have accused DeSantis of engaging in a political stunt by sending the migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, with President Biden accusing him of “playing politics with people’s lives.”
One local resident said the migrants were welcome, provided they “work and contribute.”
Chris Gary, 39, from Cummaquid in Cape Cod said he had no problem with the migrants living in his town provided they worked and didn’t take welfare handouts.
“We already have a big homeless problem here,” he told The Post.
“There’s legit homeless who can’t just get shelter at Joint Base Cape Cod.”
More than two million migrants have crossed the southern border with Mexico in the current fiscal year, breaking last year’s record. The numbers are expected to mark an historic high when the fiscal year ends Sept. 30.