(Headline USA) Several illegal immigrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were granted “victim of crime” visas this week, allowing them to remain and work in the U.S.—just not in the exclusive leftist vacation enclave, from which they were promptly removed upon arrival.
The migrants applied for the special type of visa, known as a U-visa, last year after arriving in the ritzy Massachusetts town, alleging they were duped into boarding the charter flight with the false promise of jobs and housing. At least 49 of the migrants on the flight have since been granted U-visas, according to local outlet GBH.
According to their attorney, Rachel Self, the visa means they can now apply for jobs legally and that they can’t be deported while they wait for the visa to come through. The U-visa often leads to permanent lawful status in the U.S., as well, she said.
“It’s what we have known from day one,” Self claimed. “Anyone who has looked at what happened to these individuals, anyone that has seen the evidence in this case cannot ignore the criminality of the actors.”
Adriana Lafaille, managing attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, suggested the same strategy could be used by the tens of thousands of other illegal immigrants who have been shipped out of border states and into Democratic sanctuary states.
“It’s really important that these U-visa certifications were issued because they send a message that no one is free to victimize people just because they’re at their most vulnerable,” said Lafaille. “Newly arrived immigrants have the protections of the law.”
The spurious rationale ignores the fact that many of the illegals come to the U.S. in the first place due to the false claims of left-wing non-governmental activist groups operating in Central America that promise them freebies—and oftentimes deliver, courtesy of Democrat policies.
DeSantis has defended the migrant flight to Martha’s Vineyard, arguing that the illegals who boarded the flight did so “voluntarily.”
The flight to Martha’s Vineyard simply gave illegals “an opportunity to seek greener pastures in a sanctuary jurisdiction that offered greater resources for them, as we expected,” a spokesperson for DeSantis’s office said last year.
“Immigrants have been more than willing to leave Bexar County after being abandoned, homeless, and ‘left to fend for themselves’” by the Biden administration, the spokesperson added.
