Editor's note: This story has beenupdated to add new information and comments from public officials.
MARTHA'S VINEYARD — St. Andrew's Warden Palmer Marrin stood sentry before the door to the church's side room on Thursday in Edgartown.
The 50migrants — men, women and children as young as 3 — who had spent the night on church property after arriving unexpectedly late Wednesday afternoon on one-way charter flights, walked between the church and the parish house.
Community organizations and residents had come on Thursday to help, as did students from an advanced placement Spanish class from the high school. The students came with theirteacher, Justine DeOliviera, to help with translation.
Community members who were helping the migrants, many if not all of whom are from Venezuela,asked that reporters not speak with the island visitors, citing a concern that the migrants would endanger their situation.
Attempts by a Times reporter to greet the individuals directly in Spanish were received politely but did not lead to a conversation.
Migrants in Massachusetts:Martha's Vineyard is asking for donations for migrants. Here's how you can help.
DeOliviera politely declined to talk to a reporter, as did the students.
"We're just trying to give them shelter and keep them safe," Palmer said.
At 10 a.m. Thursday, officials were still trying to completeinformation about the migrants, such as where they came from, what airplane company delivered them unannounced on Wednesday, and what the next steps would be.
Migrants likely headed from Martha's Vineyard to Joint Base Cape Cod
State officials were exploring setting up a temporary shelter and humanitarian services at Joint Base Cape Cod on Thursday for the migrants who with no place to stay.
“On behalf of the commonwealth, I thank everyone on the ground who quickly came together to provide assistance on the Vineyard," Gov. Charlie Baker said in a statement.
Massachusetts has many resources to assist individuals who arrivewith varying immigration statuses and needs, Baker said. The stateis working with all partners involved to make sure those resources are available to the migrants that arrived on Wednesday, he said.
The 22,000-acre military base straddles Bourne, Sandwich, Mashpee and Falmouthand is home to five military agencies.
Where did the planes come from that landed as Martha's Vineyard Airport
Baker's announcement came a day after two planes from Ultimate Air Charters landed at Martha’s Vineyard Airport within a half hour of each other, Airport Director Geoffrey Freeman told the Times.
The 50 men, women and children are believed to be from Venezuela or nearby countries.A spokesperson for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantissaid Wednesday thatthe migrants were flown to Martha's Vineyard as part of the governor's"promise to drop off undocumented migrants in progressive states."
The planes took off from Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas,then went to Bob Sikes Airport in Crestview, Florida, Freeman said. Fromthere,one plane went to Spartanburg, South Carolina, and then to Martha’s Vineyard. Theother plane went to Charlotte, North Carolina, and then to Martha's Vineyard.
Private charters aren’t required to give manifestsso Freeman said there was no reason for airport officialsto process the flight.
Speaking in Northwest Florida on Thursday morning, DeSantis defended his decision to transport dozens of migrants to the island, saying the Biden administration’s border security policies were failing and that Florida is not a “sanctuary state.”
“We take what's happening at the southern border very seriously, unlike some, and unlike the president of the United States who has refused to lift the finger to secure that border,” he said, noting the record number of people and drugs transiting across the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border.
As part of a broader plan to keep immigrants attempting to enter the country illegally, DeSantis said he wanted to send a message that they were not welcomed in Florida.
Helping hands offered in Edgartown on Thursday
Lisa Belcastro, the director of the homeless shelter on Martha's Vineyard, said the migrants arrivedwithout warning.
"It was a complete surprise," she said. "Community Services got the notice first and they called me. Everyone was in shock. … We had to create an emergency shelter."
They couldn't use the school because classes are in session, Belcastro said.
People have been dropping by the church with offers to help including Bella Carillo, who brought Gracie, a yellow lab.She's not a therapy dog, Carillo said, but she thought the dog could help break through the language barriers.
Gracie did. Hands reached out without hesitation to pat her.
State Rep. Dylan Fernandes, D-Woods Hole, talked to reporters in front of the parish house.
"These people need immigration services, immigration attorneys, and resources," Fernandessaid. "These people were sent here on a lie. They were told that people would be meeting them with jobs, housing, resources. We got no heads up. Gov. (Greg) Abbott (of Texas)and Ron DeSantis wanted to create as much chaos as possible."
James Joyce, a Vineyard resident, watched the situation unfolding. He was sympathetic to governors of states along the southern border. Those states have to shoulder a heavier burden of dealing with the influx of immigrants, he said.
Another Vineyard resident who didn't want his name usedsaid the United States should help the countries where immigrants are coming from.The man was a retired physician who came by to check the medical status of the refugees, he said. The borders need to be secure, he said, but he thinks that federal laws may have been violated when DeSantis flew the migrants across state lines.
The number of Venezuelan refugees and migrants has surpassed 6 million globally, according to the UNHCR, a charity focused on refugees. For the past several years, Venezuelans have been leaving the country due to a lack of food, medicine, energy and due to violence, insecurity and threats, according to the organization.
"It's really sad," the retired physician said. "We're so divided we're not willing to cooperate to solve any of these problems.
Belcastro choked back tears when she heard what some the migrantshave been through on their journey.
"They need a break," she said. "They've been through rough stuff."
Immigrants welcomed on Martha's Vineyard in past decade
Fernandes said the Cape and Islands have welcomed many immigrants in the 10 years since the last census. Nantucket is a minority-majority school district, he said. One-third of Martha's Vineyard students are nonwhite.
"We are incredibly welcoming to immigrants," he said, disputingclaims he said were made that northern states weren't pulling their weight taking care of an influx of immigrants.
"I can tell you our population grew by 50% since the last census," Fernandessaid. "I don't think any state has grown by 50% on the southern border. In terms of actual land area density, it's probably a higher density here."
Vineyard taxi driver Peter Bradford called the arrival of the migrantsan interesting situation. Bradford is on the Oak Bluffs Affordable Housing Committee and said the island is in the middle of a housing crisis. He said there were people living in cars, sheds, basem*nts, tents, garages and on the streets.
"We need help out here," he said. "If we had housing, maybe it would work out."
A parking lot full of people
A receptionist at Martha’s Vineyard Community Services looked up late Wednesday afternoon to find the group of 50 migrants standing in the center’s parking lot.
The migrants didn't speak English, butwith the help of a Spanish translator from the nearby Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, community services staff learned the group was from Venezuela and had been put on a plane with nothing but a brochure from the island's service center.
They had walked the two miles or so from the airport to the center.
"We COVID-tested them all. Everyone was negative. A little girl had a temperature so we separated her with her family. A lot of them were shellshocked and afraid," said Janet Constantino, a therapist and nurse practitioner working at the center.
A sanctuary state or not:Why is Florida Gov. Ron Desantis sending migrants to Martha's Vineyard?
The crowd wouldn't fit in the building so staffers gave them water and snacks in the parking lot while a plan was made.
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Martha's Vineyard residents step up to help the migrants
"This all started to transpire late (Wednesday) afternoon. They came unannounced," saidThe Rev. Vincent G. “Chip” Seadale, rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Edgartown. "Since we had several years ago spearheaded efforts to help the homeless on the island, we opened our doors."
Seadale, who has been monitoring the situation by phone from a clergy conference in North Carolina, said his church was providing an immediate place for the migrants and reaching out to other churches Thursday.
"Overnight they can sleep on the pews or in the parish hall on the floor. We are in communication with the governor's office for possible help but these are people just like me and you and they need care and attention."
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Dukes County officials also announced it had opened emergency shelters across the island on Wednesday and asked for volunteers to help with what they described as “an unexpected ongoing urgent humanitarian situation.”
At about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, Fernandestweeted from the ferry: "Currently migrants are being dropped off on Martha's Vineyard by chartered flights from Texas. Many don't know where they are. They say they were told they would be given housing and jobs. Islanders were given no notice but are coming together as a community to support them."
Carla Cooper said volunteers ordered pizza, salad and soup to feed the people, aged 3 to adults in their 40s,"who had had no food or water since 6 a.m."
"People were just showing up (at the church) with food, rice and beans," she said. "When something happens to our island, we come together to help. We are going to take care of these people."
Cooper, head of the Democratic Council of Martha's Vineyard, said, "It is disgusting and repulsive that these people were herded like cattle onto a plane, not told where they were going and our community was not notified. This is not a joke, this is insanely ridiculous."
Martha's Vineyard and its residents will take care of the strangers, she said, who all spoke Spanish and were using translation apps on their phones to express their gratitude.
Martha's Vineyard officials were not sure where the planes came from
The Martha's Vineyard Times reportedthat West Tisbury Town Administrator Jennifer Rand told selectmen, at their meeting late Wednesday afternoon, that only one plane had landed but more are expected. She and other officials were not sure where the plane or planes had originated.
In an interview with foxnews.com Wednesday evening,Taryn Fenske,DeSantis'communications director, said, "Florida can confirm the two planes with illegal immigrants that arrived in Martha's Vineyard today were part of the state's relocation program to transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary destination."
Former President Barack Obama owns a home on Martha's Vineyard along withpeople in the entertainment industry and corporate CEOs. The island is also a vacation spot for Democratic politicians.
DeSantis’ immigration policies include a plan to use $12 million to pay for the transportation of undocumented immigrants dropped in Florida from the U.S.-Mexico border, theTallahassee Democrat reported last month.
The Biden administration’s border security and immigration policies have become a favorite target for DeSantis and other Republicans nationwide, the paper reported. The debate ratcheted up earlier this year when two GOP governors — Greg Abbott of Texas and Doug Ducey of Arizona — called out Biden and sent busloads of migrants from their border states to New York City and Washington.
By late August, almost 8,000 migrants have arrived on state-sponsored bus trips, straining resources and humanitarian services of both cities, which have also sought assistance from the federal government.
"History does not look kindly on leaders who treat human beings like cargo, loading them up and sending them a thousand miles away without telling them their destination," U.S. Rep, Wiliam Keating said in a statement late Wednesday night. "Still, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made that choice today. ... Instead of trying to help them, he chose to charter a private jet and send them to a rural island community late in the day and without warning so they wouldn't have the resources at the ready to support them.
"But the people of Martha's Vineyard, its vibrant immigrant community, and the Commonwealth as a whole are already calling Governor DeSantis' bluff and rising to meet the challenge because that's what Americans do— we help those in need."
Florida Venezuelan-American community angry with DeSantis
Venezuelan-American leaders in Florida denounced the “flights of asylum seekers” to Martha’s Vineyard, blasting DeSantis, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
“Venezuelan leaders are rightfully outraged,” said a joint statement of five Venezuelan-American groups on Wednesday night. They plan a news conference on Thursday.
“Venezuelan leaders and other immigration advocates will come together to denounce this blatant disregard for human life and the lies that Governor Ron DeSantis has told to the Cuban and Venezuelan communities as recently as his September 7thpress conference in Miami where he promised that neither Cubans or Venezuelans would be sent out of the state.”
Staff writersAnne Brennan and Mary Ann Bragg contributed to this report.
Contact Gwenn Friss at gfriss@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @dailyrecipe.
Contact Denise Coffey at dcoffey@capecodonline.com.
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