大象传媒

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis faces multiple lawsuits and a criminal investigation for his role in of 48 Venezuelan and Colombian migrants from Texas to Martha鈥檚 Vineyard, Massachusetts, on Sept. 14. DeSantis鈥� office called the action 鈥渁 relocation program to transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary destinations.鈥�

The individuals in question were from the Migrant Resource Center in San Antonio, Texas, with false promises of jobs and education awaiting them in . Instead, they were flown to Florida. And then, with no warning to local authorities or residents, they were finally taken to Martha鈥檚 Vineyard, an island off the Massachusetts coast, and a popular destination for .

If DeSantis was making a political point to Democrats about the burden that migrants place on state governments at the southern border, his actions appear to have backfired. Within hours of the migrants鈥� arrival, Martha鈥檚 Vineyard residents and community activists mobilized to provide food, clothing, and shelter at a church for the new arrivals, . Local and national fundraising efforts resulted in more than $175,000 in donations. Migrants were each given a mobile phone and a $50 prepaid debit card, then were transported to , where they are currently being housed while lawyers help them seek asylum.

Javier Salazar, the sheriff of Bexar County, Texas, has a criminal investigation into those who 鈥渓ured and transported鈥� the migrants from his county to Massachusetts.

Some of the migrants have also filed a with the help of Boston-based .

One attorney with the organization, Mirian Albert, was among those who rushed to help the migrants and offered them legal aid. She spoke with 大象传媒 Racial Justice Editor Sonali Kolhatkar about what she witnessed.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Sonali Kolhatkar: Let鈥檚 start with what it was like to be with this group of migrants. You had the chance to be with them in person and interact with them. Give me a sense of where they鈥檝e come from and what their journey has been like.

Mirian Albert: Sure. My office, Lawyers for Civil Rights, myself included, have been on the ground since the group of migrants arrived at Martha鈥檚 Vineyard. And then our offices also helped with escorting them from Martha鈥檚 Vineyard to Joint Base in Cape Cod, where they鈥檙e currently housed.

And from what I saw, it was really tragic. I heard stories from folks there who had discussed traveling for months on end from various countries, going through perilous different routes where some people were kidnapped, experienced violence on the way to the United States, and who were also fleeing violence, sometimes from their own home countries.

So, this group of folks was just hoping to seek refuge and safety in the United States, and it鈥檚 so shameful that they were being used as political pawns to make a point.

Kolhatkar: I understand that many of them are from Venezuela, so they have made a long journey. And they turned themselves in at the border, which, from my layperson鈥檚 perspective, gives them legal rights in this country, right?

Albert: So yeah, the majority of the group was from Venezuela. It was a variety of populations. There were women, there were children as young as 2 years old, there were teenagers of various ages.

So, the majority of the group had submitted [themselves] to immigration officials, and that meant that they had been processed by federal officials, they had been given immigration documents in the sense that they would have to proceed later on with their immigration proceedings.

So, that is kind of the point that Lawyers for Civil Rights is making, that it seems that there is an interference with federal immigration law by moving these individuals from Texas, where they were, and putting them on an isolated location, now off the coast of Massachusetts.

Kolhatkar: And Florida to charter these planes from Texas, right? Do you see this as a political stunt?

Albert: It is, I agree. I mean, it鈥檚 shameful, and especially in the manner that it happened here, where, for example, folks were talking about how they were induced to get on this plane, being made promises to find employment, to secure permanent housing, to obtain assistance with food, with clothing. People were promised English classes, resources for their children who would be attending school.

And I think most alarming [was] that they were told that they would have assistance with their legal proceedings moving forward. But none of these things were actually arranged. None of this was actually implemented.

When they arrived at Martha鈥檚 Vineyard, if it hadn鈥檛 been for the effort from the community who mobilized immediately, these folks would not have had anything at all. They were left with no help at all.

Kolhatkar: Tell me how people mobilized on the ground. I imagine that the migrants themselves were surprised, because they were told one thing and found another. And also, the people in Martha鈥檚 Vineyard were surprised to receive them, right?

Albert: Yes. That鈥檚 correct. People were told that there would be officials waiting for them when they arrived, at whatever location they were flying to鈥攂ecause they were also told that they were flying to different locations, like people were told that they were going to fly to Boston, other people were told different locations鈥攂ut the point being that they were told one location and then halfway through the flight they were communicated that they were landing on Martha鈥檚 Vineyard. So, you know, there was that shock.

And then also landing and not having anyone to help them. So that was another shock as well.

But thankfully, I think that [the migrants] have been really grateful [for] the warm response [from] the community. Churches and other community organizations have really mobilized to ensure that they were able to provide immediate needs.

We鈥檝e also seen an outpouring of support from the legal community in that we鈥檝e seen numerous pro bono attorneys along with Lawyers for Civil Rights who have showed up at Martha鈥檚 Vineyard, and we鈥檝e all continued to move efforts forward to ensure that all of these individuals have individual immigration representation moving forward.

Kolhatkar: When you met them, did they seem traumatized to you? I don鈥檛 mean as much by the part of their journey that led them to the United States (which of course must have been traumatic), but by the part of their journey that brought them from Texas?

Albert: Yeah, definitely. I mean folks talked about how they felt tricked. They felt defrauded, they were disoriented. I spoke to a mother who was there with her younger son, and she talked about how she felt regret. She was like, 鈥淲e flew here, I believed this person who told me to get on this flight, with all of these things promised, and now we鈥檝e landed in a location that I can鈥檛 find anyone to help us.鈥� [She was] thinking of her child and the implication that it might have on the longer term.

Thankfully, the community really responded in such a positive way, and they were able to obviously get help, but I think that a lot of people were really disturbed by the whole situation and still can鈥檛 believe that all the promises that they were made were all fake, all false.

Kolhatkar: Can you share with us any stories of individuals鈥攚hile obviously protecting their identity鈥攁ny details that you can give us about their lives, what led them to the United States, what they鈥檙e looking for, what their hopes and dreams might be for their future?

Albert: Yeah, I mean it鈥檚 really a variety of stories, right? We had a few families and mothers who were there with their young children. We had fathers there who want to make sure that they鈥檙e able to give their children back in their home countries a better life and are very much concerned about what implications this whole situation will have on their ability to stay in the United States. So, there are a variety of stories, definitely.

Kolhatkar: Martha鈥檚 Vineyard is a privileged community. It鈥檚 also a liberal enclave. It鈥檚 a place where presidents vacation. Yet the response was warm. Can you give me a sense of the kind of grassroots connections that were formed?

Albert: The community response was inspiring. It truly was. They were able to place all of the folks inside of a church. They were able to provide food, clothing by donation. They were also able to connect them with medical assistance, dentist appointments, you know, get them whatever immediate medical needs that they had at the moment. And that was extremely crucial.

Kolhatkar: What has happened to the migrants now? Tell me about where they have ended up and what their future holds for them.

Albert: Sure. Lawyers for Civil Rights, in collaboration with local officials, assisted in relocating the migrants from Martha鈥檚 Vineyard to Joint Base, where they鈥檙e currently housed. And that was just so that there was appropriate housing or space for everyone that wasn鈥檛 available at the church previously, in addition to providing whatever additional resources they needed. Our efforts to connect them with immigration attorneys also continue. So that鈥檚 been ongoing.

Kolhatkar: I understand that your organization is asking for a criminal investigation into what Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida did?

Albert: Correct. Yes, Lawyers for Civil Rights sent out a letter calling for federal and state officials to open a criminal investigation surrounding [DeSantis鈥� actions], whether it be around kidnapping and trafficking and additional criminal implications that may come from this situation. In addition to that, on a parallel track, Lawyers for Civil Rights is working on exploring any other potential and viable civil implications, because we do believe that there are some constitutional claims that are viable and that should be asserted.

Kolhatkar: What needs to happen in the broad scheme of things? Because the GOP is claiming that there aren鈥檛 enough resources for southern states like Florida and Texas to deal with the 鈥渃rush at the border.鈥� But it seems as though Republicans don鈥檛 admit that they are unwilling to legislate solutions to the immigration crisis, right?

Albert: All right. I think that the important thing here is that this doesn鈥檛 happen again, right? You can鈥檛 just induce people to board a plane and then send them to a different location without having any preparations for them.

And that鈥檚 what Lawyers for Civil Rights wants to make sure of: that the parties that were responsible for this occurring here at Martha鈥檚 Vineyard, that that doesn鈥檛 repeat itself again, and that these responsible parties are held accountable, because, you know, we鈥檙e not going to allow this to happen again.