Migrants flown to Massachusetts certified as crime victims, eligible for U visas
The transportation of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard continues to stir controversy. The Associated Press reports that a Texas sheriff has certified 49 migrants flown from San Antonio to Massachusetts last month to be crime victims, which allows them to apply for visas to remain in the United States.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar’s certifications allow the mostly Venezuelan migrants to apply for U visas while his office investigates the September flight to Martha’s Vineyard.
Salazar said in a statement that “based upon the claims of migrants being transported from Bexar County under false pretenses, we are investigating this case as possible unlawful restraint,” a misdemeanor. “We have suspects identified, however at this point in the investigation we are not at liberty to release those names publicly or confirm any identities,” he said.
KJ