Federal agents descend on Martha's Vineyard in immigration crackdown

Yahoo

6 days ago

This story was published by our news partner the Vineyard Gazette on Martha's Vineyard.
Eyewitnesses and workers on the Island say the FBI and other federal agencies were on the Vineyard Tuesday, stopping vehicles and taking people into custody.
Reports of officers in unmarked vehicles making traffic stops in down-Island towns spread across social media in the morning, and witnesses said they saw officers in FBI jackets involved. The bureau did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
In one video shared online, a masked officer with the FBI is seen talking to a driver in a L&R Electrical Services van along Barnes Road.
Thiago Alves, the owner of L&R Electrical Services, confirmed one of his workers was stopped by officers who were with the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Alves' business is based in Rhode Island, and his worker arrived on the Island on Monday.
The man, who Alves said has a green card, was released after questioning, but officers were interested in his immigration documentation.
'They questioned my guys looking for paperwork,' Alves said.
Several other workers in the trades had been stopped as well, he said.
'My guy said they are stopping all the work vans,' Mr. Alves said. 'It's nothing against [us], it's pretty much everyone.'
ICE also did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Other Islanders saw people taken into custody in Vineyard Haven. One Island woman, who asked to be anonymous for fear of reprisal, was driving along State Road at about 7:30 a.m. when she saw officers arrest a man across the street from Vineyard Grocer near the cemetery.
While on her way to work, she saw more stops at the Barnes Road rotary, including by officers wearing Drug Enforcement Administration garb.
'They were just grabbing people out of their cars,' she said.
A DEA spokesperson confirmed they had an agent assisting ICE, and referred questions to the other agency.
Police officials in Edgartown and Tisbury did not return requests for comment. An Oak Bluffs police official referred questions to the FBI.
The stops had Island institutions on high alert. The Vineyard public schools, which have many immigrant students, were monitoring the situation, according to Superintendent Richard Smith.
In an email to parents sent out Tuesday, Smith said students' well-being is the district's highest priority.
'We want to remind you that we have protocols in place, aligned with state laws and District policies, to handle any requests for student or family information, as well as access to students, staff, or school property,' he wrote. 'This includes requests from immigration authorities. Our staff are trained to follow these protocols to safeguard our students and school community.'
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