Some of the roughly 50 Venezuelan illegal immigrants flown by Governor Ron DeSantis to Martha’s Vineyard are now on the path to permanent residency, with the federal government reportedly granting them special visas this week. The so-called ‘U visas’–which are reserved for victims of potential crimes–will shield several of the migrants from deportation, allowing them to live and work in the United States for a minimum of four years.
The Boston Globe reported Monday that three of the migrants have received “bona fide determinations” from Citizenship and Immigration Services so far, and the group’s attorney is currently working to secure more visas for the group.
Following similar actions taken by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, DeSantis began transporting illegal immigrants to blue states in 2022, drawing a spotlight on the Biden administration’s failures on the southern border. One such destination included Martha’s Vineyard, a haven for wealthy Democrats, including former President Barack Obama.
It was not long after arriving at the island vacation spot that the migrants filed a class action lawsuit alleging “economic, emotional and constitutional harms.”
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The same federal govt flying migrants to states short on Democratic voters is alleging DeSantis flying migrants to Martha’s Vineyard was an egregious felony that cannot be tolerated https://t.co/Fkm8BgwPt3
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) April 22, 2024
While a federal judge ultimately dismissed DeSantis from the case due to “insufficient facts,” one Democratic sheriff in Texas maintains that the migrants were victims of “unlawful restraint.” While local authorities have filed no charges, Sheriff Javier Salazar’s investigation was enough to qualify the migrants for U visas.
“As we’ve always stated, the flights were conducted lawfully and authorized by the Florida legislature… We look forward to Florida’s next illegal immigration relocation flight, and we are glad to bring national attention to the crisis at the southern border.” ~ Jeremy Redfern, spokesman for Governor Ron DeSantis
The special visas, implemented by the Biden administration in 2021, can be granted to up to 10,000 migrants annually. According to the Citizenship and Immigration Services, they are “set aside for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity.”
In their report, the Boston Globe noted that the U visas additionally serve as a pathway for migrants to obtain work authorization, and later, permanent residency in the U.S.
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NEW: Border Patrol recorded 779 known gotaways across the southern border yesterday, per CBP sources. The seven day average for recorded gotaways is currently at 706 per day for the last week.
Reminder: These are illegal aliens detected but not caught. Doesn’t include unknown.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) April 22, 2024
DeSantis has continued to defend the transporting of migrants to blue states. In 2023, his administration chartered two additional flights, sending more illegal immigrants to California.
“These sanctuary jurisdictions are part of the reason we have this problem because they have endorsed and agitated for these types off open border policies,” DeSantis said at the time.
“They have bragged they are sanctuary jurisdictions. They attack the previous admin efforts to try to have border security … When they have to deal with some of the fruits of that they all of a sudden become very, very upset about that.”
According to figures from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, more than 7 million migrants have crossed the southern border illegally since the start of the Biden administration.
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