'Upbeat, hopeful, and looking forward,' Venezuelan migrants leave Martha's Vineyard

Record ID: 1689289

  • Title: 'Upbeat, hopeful, and looking forward,' Venezuelan migrants leave Martha's Vineyard
  • Date: 16th September 2022
  • Summary: EDGARTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 16, 2022) (REUTERS) VOLUNTEERS FOR EMERGENCY SHELTER AT ST. ANDREW'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH SAYING GOODBYE TO IMMIGRANT (SOUNDBITE) (English) LEAGUE OF UNITED LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS, NATIONAL PRESIDENT, DOMINGO GARCIA, SAYING: "They... Most of them were very upbeat, hopeful, hopeful, and looking forward to hopefully they're having their day in court and having asylum claims heard and becoming part of the American dream." VOLUNTEERS SAYING GOODBYE TO IMMIGRANT (SOUNDBITE) (English) LEAGUE OF UNITED LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS, NATIONAL PRESIDENT, DOMINGO GARCIA, SAYING: "They were very thankful of this help they got here in Martha's Vineyard. But I think that they need to get busses passes to wherever they're going, and they need to get some small financial assistance to help them with their process. And then they need lawyers for their immigration asylum cases." VOLUNTEERS SAYING GOODBYE TO IMMIGRANT (SOUNDBITE) (English) LEAGUE OF UNITED LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS, NATIONAL PRESIDENT, DOMINGO GARCIA, SAYING: "It might be ironic that they are better off being here in Massachusetts than they are in Texas, but the reality is they should never have been put in that position because no telling what could have happened to them. And I was in Washington yesterday, in Washington, D.C., and we had one immigrant who went into shock because he was diabetic and his insulin haven't been refrigerated. He had to go to the hospital. We heard that there was a baby that also went to the hospital. They had respiratory issues because they had been on a bus for 16 hours. You know, again, these are just... it is un-Christian, un-American, an un-Texan to use immigrants this way, fellow refugees, fleeing repression in their countries of Venezuela and Cuba and looking for an American dream, to be treated like that by the governors of Texas and Florida." VOLUNTEERS SAYING GOODBYE TO IMMIGRANT (SOUNDBITE) (English) LEAGUE OF UNITED LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS, NATIONAL PRESIDENT, DOMINGO GARCIA, SAYING: "I mean, there's really nothing here unless you're coming here on vacation. There's no work and there are no opportunities. And they're basically just being used by the Republican governors to try to send a message to the Biden administration that there are open borders. There are no open borders. The borders are closed. Hundreds of thousands of people are deported every day. I'm from Texas, okay? So I come here from Dallas. I've been to the border. I've seen the implementation. This is a special exception because Venezuela does not have relations with the United States, so they cannot be deported back." VARIOUS OF VOLUNTEERS SAYING GOODBYE TO IMMIGRANT (SOUNDBITE) (English) LEAGUE OF UNITED LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS, NATIONAL PRESIDENT, DOMINGO GARCIA, SAYING: "I just don't know if Governor DeSantis and Governor Abbott are going to continue to use immigrants as, you know, political ploys and pawns, and we're going to have another chartered plane. Think about the cost to taxpayers, whether it's Florida taxpayers or Texas taxpayers, to charter two planes to fly from San Antonio, Texas, all the way to Martha's Vineyard. That has to cost hundreds of dollars, okay? And then to do that at taxpayer expense, that's just a travesty of money. It's an abuse of their authority and power. VARIOUS OF BUSSES WITH IMMIGRANTS LEAVING VARIOUS OF BEAUTY SHOTS OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD
  • Embargoed: 30th September 2022 18:46
  • Keywords: Martha's Vineyard Venezuela immigrants
  • Location: EDGARTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES
  • City: EDGARTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Lawmaking,Government/Politics,United States
  • Reuters ID: LVA001594416092022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The state of Massachusetts transported migrants off the wealthy island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, on Friday (September 16) morning, in response to an unusual move by Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis to fly them there from the border state of Texas.
    The roughly 50 migrants, including about half a dozen children, boarded buses to head to the ferry to Cape Cod, leaving some of the island residents who volunteered to shelter them in a church for two nights in tears.
    Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, a Republican, said the migrants would be housed temporarily at a Cape Cod military base, organized by state emergency officials.
    The migrants were flown to Martha's Vineyard as part of an escalating effort by Republican governors to call attention to what they view as Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden's failure to secure the U.S.-Mexico border amid record attempted crossings.
    DeSantis, who is running for reelection in November, has taken credit for transporting the migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, though the legal basis for the Florida government to round up migrants in a different state remained unclear.
    U.S. government attorneys are exploring possible litigation around the efforts by the governors to move migrants north, a Biden administration official told Reuters.
    The flights follow a busing scheme by the Republican governors of Texas and Arizona that has sent more than 10,000 migrants to the Democrat-controlled cities of Washington, New York, and Chicago since April.
    Immigration is a motivating issue for Republican voters, and the party has sought to focus attention on that issue in the run-up to Nov. 8 midterm elections that will decide control of Congress and key governorships.
    The White House has decried the efforts, saying migrants were being used in a political stunt.
    Martha's Vineyard is home to around 20,000 year-round residents and is known as a vacation spot for affluent liberals like former Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
    The migrants arrived without notice on chartered flights on Wednesday that landed at the island's small airport.
    Residents lined up at a table to donate money, toiletries, and toys for the migrants. A local thrift shop donated clean clothes. Local restaurants took turns organizing meals, and a Spanish-language Mass was organized at St. Andrews.
    Pro-bono lawyers flew in to help the migrants with paperwork and immigration cases.
    (Production: Aleksandra Michalska)
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