Several migrants sent by plane by the governor of Florida, Republican Ron De Santis, from San Antonio (Texas) to the island of Martha's Vineyard (Massachusetts), claimed that a woman, whom they only identified as Perla, deceived them in the Texas city to board the two flights on Wednesday, promising that they would be transferred to Boston (which is also in Massachusetts but almost 100 miles to the north), and that their work permits would be expedited as applicants for asylum.
Emmanuel, a 27-year-old Venezuelan, told the San Antonio Report newspaper that Perla paid him $200 to look for migrants to send by plane to "sanctuary states," where "there is help for migrants."
"I'm just a mediator because I want to help people," he added, explaining that he gave Perla the contact of 10 people at an immigrant resource center.
According to the young man, the woman said that the money he offered came from an "anonymous benefactor" who financed the flights.
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Another migrant, who did not want to give his name, also told the Vineyard Gazette that he was recruited by a woman named Perla.
“I think this is all a strategy to make us miss our court dates so we get in trouble with the law and they can deport us,” she said.
This asylum seeker has an appointment before an immigration court in Los Angeles (California) next week, according to the aforementioned newspaper.
"They were told they would have a job and a home," Elizabeth Folcarelli, director of Martha's Vineyard Community Services, told The Associated Press news agency.
Another migrant who identified himself as Luis told the Reuters news agency that Perla approached him and his family outside the immigration center in San Antonio, Texas, and put them up in a hotel, but did not tell them his name. last name or any affiliation.
She asked them she further asked them to sign a liability waiver.
Julio Henríquez, a lawyer who met with several of the 50 migrants transferred on those two planes, told The Associated Press that they "had no idea where they were going or where they were."
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The two flights to Martha's Vineyard made stops in Florida, Henriquez said;
On board, the migrants received information and maps of Massachusetts.
Several of the asylum seekers explained to public radio (NPR) that their flight left in San Antonio, and that they were told they were being taken to Boston.
The migrants, including Emmanuel, described Perla as
a blonde-haired woman
driving a white van.
Andrés Duarte, a 30-year-old Venezuelan, told the Daily Beast that he had recently crossed the border with Texas and ended up going to a shelter in San Antonio.
"She [Perla] offered us help that never came," he said. "Look, when you don't have money and someone offers you help, it means a lot," he added.
Venezuelan migrants at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, Massachusetts, on September 14, 2022.RAY EWING/VINEYARD GAZETTE / via REUTERS
An unsigned letter received by the migrants ordered them to notify the Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) about their change of address, despite the fact that the person in charge of these procedures is actually another agency, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service. (ICE), Henriquez explained.
"It's terrible advice
," he said.
Several of the migrants transferred to Martha's Vineyard have appointments with ICE on September 19 in San Antonio.
Others were ordered to report to immigration authorities within two weeks to three months in cities like Philadelphia and Washington DC.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, a Democrat, said Friday that he would offer shelter and humanitarian support to migrants, adding that he would activate 125 members of the National Guard to assist in these tasks.
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Baker set up shelters at the Cap Cod military base, and said the state Emergency Management Agency has been coordinating with local authorities to secure food and essential services.
The migrants were bussed Friday to the military base, which was used in 2005 to house people displaced in Louisiana by Hurricane Katrina, and served as a hospital in the worst months of the coronavirus pandemic.
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President Joe Biden on Thursday criticized the Republican governors of Texas and Florida for sending asylum seekers from the border to cities governed by Democrats such as Chicago, New York, Washington DC, and now Martha's Vineyard, in Massachusetts.
“What they are doing is simply wrong.
It is un-American and reckless”, he condemned, “they should not interfere in the [asylum] process with political maneuvers”.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, asked the Justice Department on Thursday to open an investigation into "possible criminal or civil violations" for sending migrants to Martha's Vineyard "for political purposes."
