Martha’s Vineyard Responds With Compassion After DeSantis Dumps Migrants in ‘Cruel Stunt’

Residents of the Massachusetts resort community of Martha’s Vineyard on Wednesday immediately rallied to ensure dozens of South American migrants had clothing, shelter, and food after they arrived on the island without warning—and without any idea where they were—as part of Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’s program for the “transportation” of refugees and undocumented immigrants.

About 50 migrants, reportedly from Venezuela and Colombia, boarded a plane in San Antonio Wednesday and authorities had told them that they would “receive housing and jobs immediately upon arrival” at their destination, Massachusetts state Rep. Dylan Fernandes told The Vineyard Gazette, but the community was not informed of the plan.

Soon after the two planes brought the migrants to Martha’s Vineyard Airport, local restaurants, schools, and community groups were among those joining the impromptu effort to provide care for the group.

The community offered “basic relief services” to the migrants at Martha’s Vineyard Community Services in the town of Oak Bluffs, according to the Gazette. The community members later took them to Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School where they offered food and water to them, as teachers and students offered help with interpretation. The group spent the night at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.

A Venezuelan refugee identified as Leonel told The New York Times that he “had never seen anything like” the community effort in Martha’s Vineyard, adding that the community members gave him new clothes following his journey across Central America, Mexico, and the Rio Grande.

“It’s been three months since I put on a new pair of pants,” Leonel told the Times. “Or shoes.”

DeSantis’ office took credit for orchestrating the flights that brought the migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, with a spokesperson telling the Times, “States like Massachusetts, New York, and California will better facilitate the care of these individuals who they have invited into our country by incentivizing illegal immigration through their designation as ‘sanctuary states’ and support for the Biden administration’s open border policies.”

The Florida governor has joined Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, also a Republican, in sending immigrants to heavily Democratic cities and states in what critics including Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) denounced Wednesday as a “cruel stunt.”

Despite DeSantis’ efforts to use the migrants as what one Democratic organizer called “political props,” the local chapter of Indivisible reported that residents were happy to welcome the group, some of whom had traveled to the U.S. by foot.

Originally published at Commondreams.org.