In Massachusetts' island communities, sudden ICE arrests rattle Nantucket, Vineyard

Boston Globe

29-05-2025

The effect of the raid reverberated across the islands just as they were emerging into full summer thrum, and left even immigrants with citizenship and legal status feeling tense.
'We're the only Indians here,' said Uma Batta, 56, of Oak Bluffs. Her family, immigrants from New Delhi, owns a gift shop in town, and have been citizens for more than three decades. 'We are still worried. Who knows? We are brown.'
Federal officials said two of those detained had criminal histories, but did not disclose their names, making it impossible to verify their records.
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'ICE and our federal partners made a strong stand for prioritizing public safety by arresting and removing illegal aliens from our New England neighborhoods,' said Patricia H. Hyde, acting field director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston.
On X, White House press secretary Karolie Leavitt responded to a news story about the arrests:
The news hit hard on Martha's Vineyard, where less than three years ago Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sent a planeload of nearly 50 Venezuelan immigrants as part of a political ploy to dramatize the migrant crisis in his state.
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Florida's so-called 'migrant relocation program' became the center of
On Martha's Vineyard Wednesday, immigrants were shaken by the latest raids; a landscaper's eyes widened in fear when a reporter mentioned ICE. The landscaper, who does not have legal status and declined to give his full name, said he hopes to work for three more seasons before returning to his hometown of Espírito Santo, Brazil.
State Senator Julian Cyr, who represents the Cape and Islands, said the action has left his constituents 'in fear, disrupted businesses of all kinds, and sent a chilling message to many residents who have lived, worked, and contributed to island life for years.'
'Please remember that it is immigrants who make your vacation possible,' the Provincetown Democrat said in a statement. 'Immigrants serve and cook your food, clean your beds, mow your lawns, take out your trash, and so much more. Most are here through employer sponsored visa programs, some are undocumented. All fill critical roles that are essential to sustaining our seasonal economy.'
Dawn Holdgate, chair of the Nantucket select board, said Wednesday night 'there is a great deal of fear' on the island. 'That's all I've heard.'
She added that local police were not involved in the Nantucket arrests.
Governor Maura Healey said Massachusetts officials have received 'zero information' about the arrests and others ICE has conducted, and 'that needs to change.'
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'It was very disturbing, needless to say, to wake up to the news,' Healey said during an unrelated news conference at the State House. Healey said of the 40 arrests, she 'heard about two [who had] alleged criminal records' and that authorities 'were tailing people who are off to construction sites, to do a day's work.'
'It's one thing to go after and target those who have committed crimes, who are here unlawfully,' she said. 'You know, it's concerning when we see people, moms and dads, being ripped away from families, neighbors, co-workers taken away, literally, it looks like on the way to job sites in Nantucket and on the Vineyard.'
The owner of a Rhode Island-based electrical contractor said Wednesday that two of his employees were stopped by federal agents in Martha's Vineyard on Tuesday.
'They treat the guys like criminals,' Thiago Alves said in a telephone interview Wednesday.
He added the two workers have pending green card applications with the federal government and were released after proving their legal immigration status.
Back on the islands, the news trickled among locals and visitors and alike. Familiar scenes of the tourism season unfolded on Nantucket, as crowds of sightseers popped into ice cream shops, cafes, souvenir stores, and bars in the island's quaint, cobblestone-covered downtown area.
Some people had heard about the raids, others hadn't. Some were offended by the immigration action, others weren't.
Seated on a bench on Main Street sat Robert Jepson, an 83-year-old retiree who has lived on Nantucket since the late 1960s.
'If you're illegally here, you should go away,' he said.
Jepson referred to undocumented immigrants as 'aliens,' and wondered aloud whether a landscaping truck he saw pulled over earlier in the week was related to the raid. He was aware of ICE alleging that one of those swept up in the raids here and on the Vineyard was an MS-13 gang member, saying 'If you're MS, we don't need criminals here.'
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Not everyone was of that mind. Dick Strutz, an 85-year-old from Fort Myers, Fla., said he felt for the immigrants detained.
'You and I have the right to be here, why don't they?' Strutz asked, seated outside a juice cafe on Main Street. 'They are the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich jumps all over them.'
Claudia Morris, a 47-year-old shop manager of 'It's a Shore Thing,' which sells island and beach-themed knick knacks on Nantucket, acknowledged that some people are 'freaking out' in the wake of the raids.
Morris is originally from Mexico and has lived on the island for more than 20 years. She said she's heard anecdotally that some immigrants are staying home and not going to work out of fear.
Jack Cloutier, 32, has lived on Nantucket for 11 years, works in hospitality, and was angered when he heard about the raids. He found the federal actions to be 'pretty disgraceful,' saying that wealthy people treat the island as their playground, but immigrants are who keep Nantucket running.
Many workers on the island are undocumented, he said.
'People are going to come here on their yachts and wonder why service is worse this year,' he added. 'It's because everyone will be hiding.'
Matt Stout, Esmy Jimenez, and John R. Ellement of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
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Samantha J. Gross can be reached at