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Cape and Islands DA urges AG Garland to investigate Martha’s Vineyard migrant flights

The September 2022 incident involved nearly 50 migrants flying from Texas to Martha's Vineyard as part of an apparent political stunt organized by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Migrants gather with their belongings outside St. Andrews Episcopal Church on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard. Ray Ewing/Vineyard Gazette via AP

By Susannah Sudborough

August 1, 2023

3 minutes to read

Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois has joined a chorus of officials who are calling on U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate the Martha’s Vineyard migrant flights.

In a Monday email, Galibois reiterated calls for the Department of Justice to open criminal and civil investigations into the September 2022 flights that took nearly 50 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in an apparent political stunt by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“As elected law enforcement and public officials from California to Texas have noted, ‘[i]t is unconscionable to use people as political props by persuading them to travel to another state based on false or deceptive representations,'” Galibois wrote in the email.

The Boston Globe reported that the Department of Justice didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment on the issue Monday.

The email comes less than a week after rallygoers protested DeSantis’s appearance on Martha’s Vineyard.

“Like my colleagues, I stand ready to cooperate with the Department of Justice, provide and share any information about these flights and schemes, and look forward to working with the Department on this issue,” Galibois wrote.

The Martha’s Vineyard migrant incident

On Sept. 14, 2022, DeSantis made headlines after he took credit for organizing the migrant flights from San Antonio. He said the point was to “transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary destinations” and push the responsibility of caring for undocumented immigrants onto blue states.

Martha’s Vineyard residents came together to take care of the migrants before the state government took over and moved them to a MEMA base on Cape Cod. The migrants, who were largely Venezuelan, now live on the South Shore and Cape Cod, and some even went back to live on the island.

But questions soon abounded about the legality of the incident, especially after details of how the migrants were recruited for the flight emerged. A now-infamous woman named Perla allegedly lured the migrants onto the planes with false promises of jobs and housing, and even recruited another migrant to help her do so.

Within a week of the incident, Lawyers for Civil Rights stepped in to represent the migrants and sued DeSantis and other Florida officials.

The DA’s email to Garland

Galibois wrote Monday that he believes federal prosecution is suitable because of the interstate nature of the incident.

“There are serious indications and allegations that [the migrants] were inveigled into making this journey,” he wrote in the email.

Galibois is not the first elected official to make this request of the attorney general. On July 6, the Texas county sheriff whose jurisdiction the migrants were recruited in, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and the California attorney general urged Garland to open federal investigations into the Martha’s Vineyard incident and a similar migrant flight to Sacramento that took place in June 2023.

That same day, the Bexar County Sheriff in Texas recommended the county’s district attorney prosecute the incident. It is not known who would face charges, but the sheriff’s office said the case involves both felony and misdemeanor charges of unlawful restraint.

Additionally, in his email to Garland, Galibois said he has interviews with the migrants that were conducted soon after they deplaned. The interviews are in Spanish, and Galibois asked that the Department of Justice help his office obtain certified translations and transcripts.

“These interviews, coupled with other obtained evidence, would provide crucial support for my initial assessment as to whether further investigation is warranted,” Galibois wrote.

Who will ultimately press charges?

Galibois has the authority to file charges in connection to the incident and could still do so regardless of whether any other authority chooses to. He told NBC10 Boston Friday that he is investigating the incident.

According to legal experts interviewed by the Globe, charges could range from civil offenses like interfering with the federal immigration process, to criminal ones such as human trafficking or kidnapping.

Lawyers for Civil Rights Executive Director Iván Espinoza-Madrigal told the Globe Monday that Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and Garland have been “noticeably quiet” about the incident. Additionally, the Bexar County district attorney has yet to press charges for the incident.

A spokesperson for Campbell’s office told the Globe Friday that she’d met with Galibois to discuss the incident previously.

Still, legal experts told the newspaper it makes sense for federal prosecutors to get involved if a potential crime occurred.

“As an issue that crosses state lines, the radar should turn on for the Department of Justice,” immigration attorney Giselle Rodriguez reportedly said.

Cape and Islands DA urges AG Garland to investigate Martha’s Vineyard migrant flights