Amid chaos in Haiti, Florida's governor is threatening to send Haitian migrants to Martha's Vineyard.
Full-time residents of the island remember September of 2022 all too well. Fifty migrants arrived unannounced, sent by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“It was just a mad house for almost three days,” said Rev. Chip Seadale of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.
Father Seadale’s church played host to the visitors, setting up cots in meeting rooms and providing food before the state of Massachusetts stepped in to assist.
Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters.
The moment itself only lasted a few days but could potentially happen again. DeSantis is threatening to do something similar, this time with those fleeing violence in Haiti.
“If Haitians land in the Florida Keys, their next stop may be Martha’s Vineyard,” said DeSantis said on "The Dana Show."
The comments were met with criticism from elected officials. Massachusetts Representative, Ayanna Pressley writing in a statement, “families fleeing unspeakable violence in Haiti and other countries deserve to be met with compassion, not used as pawns in Republicans’ cruel political games.”
Locals on Martha’s Vineyard shared similar sentiments.
“Seems like politics to me,” said one full-time resident, “you know a lot of people are getting a lot more immigrants than us.”
Seadale though, sees a role he and his church can play if called upon.
“Whether it’s a hurricane that hits us, we all have to deal with each other and what ends up before us,” he said. "We can and we will.”
No Haitians have arrived on Martha’s Vineyard at this point.
