Migrants left on Martha's Vineyard arrive at Joint Base Cape Cod shelter
BARNSTABLE - About 50 migrants who arrived unexpectedly on Martha's Vineyard Wednesday have been moved to a shelter at Joint Base Cape Cod.
Gov. Charlie Baker said moving to the temporary shelter on Cape Cod was voluntary for the migrants from Venezuela, who were flown to the island by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The state offered the migrants transportation to the base and "humanitarian supports."
Police escorted buses of migrants from St. Andrews church in Edgartown where they had spent the past two nights to the ferry port on the island Friday morning. They arrived to the base by bus just after noon.
"JBCC is a facility already designated by MEMA as an emergency shelter in Barnstable County, and its existing infrastructure provides a safe temporary accommodation appropriate for the needs of families and individuals," Baker said in a statement. "Additionally, the facility can provide dedicated space for access to legal services and other essential services such as basic healthcare."
The migrants will live in "dormitory-style spaces" at the base, and families will not be separated, Baker said.
Joint Base Cape Cod covers nearly 21,000 acres over Mashpee, Bourne and Sandwich and abuts Falmouth. Baker noted it has previously been used as a shelter for those impacted by Hurricane Katrina, and was home to a field hospital when the COVID pandemic started.
Martha's Vineyard, with a population of 15,000, is "not equipped to provide sustainable accommodation" to the migrants, Baker said.
Baker also said he will activate 125 members of the Massachusetts National Guard to help with the relief efforts.
VIDEO: Ferry carrying migrants left on Martha's Vineyard arrives at Woods Hole
Immigration attorneys were traveling with the migrants. The lawyers told WBZ-TV they have been helping these migrants not only with their papers, but are also trying to piece together exactly what happened - what they were told when they arrived in Texas to seek asylum and what they were promised here in Massachusetts.
"This is what good government actually looks like and this is what compassionate government actually looks like," Cape and Islands Rep. Dylan Fernandes said. "I couldn't be prouder of the people of Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod for their incredible work."