“Crime victim visas” approved for migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard

Several of the illegal immigrants that Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis flew to Martha's Vineyard in 2022 have since been approved for U visas — based on claims they were victims of a crime.

According to a report published Monday by The Boston Globe, three of the 49 illegal immigrants transported from San Antonio, Texas, to Florida and then to Martha's Vineyard were granted what is known as a “bona fide determination” — meaning they qualify have a U visa but have not yet received it.

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U visas are typically “reserved for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in investigating or prosecuting criminal activity.”

And in this particular case, they cooperated with a Bexar County sheriff in investigating whether any of them had been lured or coerced into boarding the flights. The investigation lasted about a month, and Sheriff Javier Salazar concluded that the illegal immigrants involved had been lured into boarding the planes “under false pretenses” and then said they were “unceremonious” when they arrived on Martha's Vineyard stranded.” DeSantis has repeatedly denied any coercion and said all migrants boarded the flights “voluntarily.”

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Official U visas can take up to ten years to be approved because Congress only allows 10,000 to be issued per year – but the “good faith provisions” protect recipients from deportation until their visa arrives and allow them to do so during that time to work legally in the United States as well. U visas also allow recipients to obtain a green card.

Hemanth C. Gundavaram, co-founder and director of the Immigrant Justice Clinic at Northeastern University School of Law, told The Globe that the goal is to fix “a flaw in our system.” Visas require illegal immigrants to first be proven victims of Criminal offenses and must then assist law enforcement or the government in subsequent investigations.

“This is a mitigation provision. If you didn’t have that protection, someone would have to stay here, worry about deportation and not be able to make a living,” he said.