Martha’s Vineyard residents fume over arrests of illegal immigrants in liberal enclave
Wealthy island that previously declared humanitarian crisis over 50 migrants now faces reality of federal enforcement
Published June 11, 2025
Martha’s Vineyard residents are unhappy with the Trump administration deporting illegal immigrants from their liberal enclave, The Washington Post reported this week.
The community has been reeling since Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers arrested dozens of illegal immigrants in a recent raid, according to the report.
“It’s bullying,” one Martha’s Vineyard resident, Charlie Giordano, told the Post. “I don’t know how many are illegal or legal, I don’t give a s—. But I do care about how they’re treated.”
The Washington Post’s story on the Martha’s Vineyard ICE raid comes as the federal law enforcement agency has been the focus of riots in downtown Los Angeles for the past several days.
ICE agents carried out operations at businesses across Los Angeles on Friday, sparking protests and clashes outside multiple locations that grew so chaotic that President Donald Trump ordered National Guard troops into the city, followed by several hundred U.S. Marines, to restore order. Some California officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have accused the administration of exacerbating the situation.
As the Post reported, ICE agents performed a massive sting throughout Massachusetts in late May that resulted in nearly 1,500 arrests. Forty of those arrests happened on the two islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.
The arrests have ignited “fear among undocumented workers who form the backbone of the workforce here just as the busy summer season gets underway,” the outlet reported.
“After the raid, many immigrants panicked and shuttered themselves indoors. Many spoke to The Washington Post only on the condition of anonymity because they fear being targeted the next time ICE arrives on the island. They recounted taking extraordinary measures that day and in the week after to protect themselves,” the Post said, adding that the liberal community on the island had been shaken as well.
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