The Venezuelan asylum seekers dumped on the remote Massachusetts island are gone -- moved to a base on the mainland where they have access to housing and immigration attorneys.
Florida Republican Governor and aspiring presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has more urgent concerns today. His state is under water. Picking on poor people from abroad will have to wait while he bails out, with maximum help from the federal government.
But the Venezuelans made friends in the strange place they were dumped. The Martha's Vineyard Times reports on a return visit from a few of them.
Stallings told The Times that he and his wife Jackie visited with the Venezuelan migrants at the base on Sept. 21, and later enjoyed time on the Vineyard with four of those folks on Sunday.
“There was an extremely warm welcome when we got to the JBCC,” Stallings said. The general consensus from all he spoke with was “they were so appreciative of the Vineyard — really enjoyed their time with us, and all of them look forward to coming back to visit soon.”
Stallings said the migrants had good accommodations and food provided to them at Joint Base Cape Cod, with their own rooms — something that couldn’t be provided for them at St. Andrew’s.
Stallings said some of them “absolutely” want to make the Vineyard their home. “There’s a handful of them who would really like to relocate,” he said. The desire is tempered with the reality of the lack of housing, but also that there’s ample work, he said. He also said they are coming to grips with the notions of cold weather and snow....
The housing shortage on the island may make it unlikely these folks will be able to settle there. But the Vineyard has long had a good sized Portuguese-speaking Cape Verdian population, migrants who made do, crowded together, and made a strong start on building a life in their new country. Maybe Venezuelans will be the next wave of newcomers to find opportunity in this cold and rocky place.
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