Migrants Flown to Martha's Vineyard are "Victims of Kidnapping" Says Attorney; Investigations Likely

Details are gradually emerging about the surprise flight that sent 50 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard late Wednesday night.

(Stick around until the end to read the statement by immigration attorney Rachel Self, who has been working with these migrants.)

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has taken credit for the flight, which appears to be part of a battle of one-upmanship with Texas Governor Greg Abbott who has bussed thousands of immigrants to cities along the East Coast. Both Abbott and DeSantis claim to be motivated by shifting the burden of managing migration to liberal areas, though I think it’s relatively uncontroversial at this point to conclude that this is much more about the performative Trumpism of two presidential hopefuls vying for their political base.

Photograph of people arriving at a church on Martha’s Vineyard. (If you can provide the name of this church, please let me know.)

CNN published a useful article last night that provides simple answers to key questions. Are the immigrants here illegally?¹ No, they are awaiting court dates. Where are they from? Mostly Central America and Venezuela. Can they work? No, it takes 180 days (typically longer) to get a work card.

It remains unclear exactly how the state of Florida could have coordinated this action (the migrants came from Texas, remember, not Florida) and whether the flight could trigger the kind of federal legal investigation that California Governor Gavin Newsome has called for. On Thursday morning, NPR reported an interview with one of the migrants who described being lured into agreeing to go onto the flight. That reminded me of UNCHR’s definition of human trafficking, which accounts for issues of deception, though I wondered whether this could also satisfy the exploitation part of the definition.

I wasn’t alone in wondering if this flight was illegal or more likely to spark an investigation than Abbott’s busses. Many people in the news and on Twitter have been attempting to sort out this puzzle, mostly with false starts, but some commentary has narrowed in on the deception and coercion part of the scheme.

southpaw @nycsouthpaw

A crime. npr.org/2022/09/15/112…

In a public statement, immigration lawyer Rachel Self, who is on Martha’s Vineyard working with the migrants, told reporters that “We believe they are victims of kidnapping.” She said the migrants were told to change their addresses with the wrong agency — United States Citizenship and Immigration Services — which she labeled an “intentional attempt to ensure the migrants were removed in absentia when they failed to change their address with the proper agency.” All of this is extremely concerning, obviously, and certainly seems like it could trigger some kind of investigation from one of several state or federal agencies.

Read Rachel Self’s Statement to Reporters

I think you will benefit enormously from reading a full transcript of Rachel Self’s statement or watching the video of her statement to reporters below. So without further ado, here is Rachel Self’s public statement to reporters last night:

“Accounts from the migrants who arrived last night make clear that they were lied to again and again, and fraudulently induced to board the planes. They were told there was a "surprise present" for them, and that there would be jobs and housing awaiting them when they arrived. This was, obviously, a sadistic lie - not only did those responsible for this stunt know that there was no housing and no employment awaiting the migrants, they also very intentionally chose not to call ahead, to any single office or authority on Martha's Vineyard, so that even the most basic human needs arrangements could be made. Ensuring that no help awaited the migrants at all was the entire point. 

They were provided with a cartoonishly simple map of Martha's Vineyard and the United States, and a brief brochure containing snippets from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts website - and instructions to report their change of address to USCIS when they relocated. This is especially troubling, as anyone with even the most basic understanding of immigration proceedings knows that USCIS was not the agency with whom the migrants would have to record their address, and has nothing to do with their cases in any way. It is clear this was an intentional attempt to ensure the migrants were removed in absentia when they failed to change their address with the proper agency.  This was a purposeful derailment designed to prevent people from complying with federal immigration policies.  This is problematic because the state should not be interfering in federal immigration procedures.

Before they boarded the planes, the migrants were processed by agents of the Department of Homeland Security, who listed falsified addresses on the migrants' paperwork. Agents apparently chose random homeless shelters all across the country, from Washington state to Florida, to list as the migrants' mailing addresses, even when told by the migrants that they had no address in the U.S. According to the paperwork provided to them, the migrants are required to check in with the ICE office nearest the fake address chosen for them by DHS, or be permanently removed - with some required to check in as soon as this coming Monday. It could not be clearer that this is an attempt to ensure that these people are ordered removed, even if they try as hard as they can to comply with the instructions provided to them. There is no other reason to list as someone's mailing address a homeless shelter in Tacoma, WA and then ship him to Massachusetts. It is sickeningly cruel. Throwing obstacles in the way of people fleeing violence and oppression, some of whom walked through ten countries in hope of finding safety, is shameful and inhuman.  Many of these victims were deprived of medical care despite clear existing injuries.  These are human beings who were deprived of basic human rights.  

To the people who find themselves plane wrecked on our island, I have a message for you.  You are not alone.  We have your backs.  We got you.  If the intention of those who perpetrated this horrendous act was to create a crisis, they have failed.”

Video of Self’s statement to reporters

One More Thing…

Since Martha’s Vineyard is in the news, I wanted to talk about the hugely important role that the island plays in the history of the American Deaf community. I wrote a Twitter thread about it here that I think you’ll find fascinating and even hopeful.

Austin Kocher, PhD @ackocher

Since Martha's Vineyard is in the news, let's talk about Martha's Vineyard's role in the development of the American Deaf community for a second. Gather 'round kids.

If you don’t have Twitter, I believe this link will let you read the thread without a Twitter account.

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1. The initial version of this paragraph which was up for several days included a typo that went unnoticed. The question here read: “Are they here legally? No,…” The question should have read: “Are they here illegally? No,…”. I regret the error. Thank you to the commenter below who caught this mistake. It was a big one. Those two little letters “il” make a big difference!