A wave of fear for immigrants on Martha’s Vineyard
The island’s Brazilian immigrant community was targeted by ICE raids, but locals pushed back to support neighbors and friends and called for due process.
MARTHA’S VINEYARD - Donning masks and kevlar vests loaded with tactical gear, a platoon of armed federal agents in unmarked vehicles landed on the shores of this Island off the coast of southern Massachusetts on Tuesday morning and swept the community looking to detain and then deport immigrants, as part of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies.
The agents pulled over vans packed with construction crews and landscaping trucks; lingered outside of public schools and the hospital; and chased down hard working people who live and work in the trades year-round on an Island perceived as an elite summer enclave for the rich and influential, from President Obama to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts.
In several instances, the agents chased – or hunted may be the more appropriate term – these working people into the woods and through road side stops of vans, as migrants literally ran for their lives, not knowing who these masked pursuers were.
Even if those being hunted were fairly certain the agents were from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE,) they ran because they did not want to take a chance to comply and trust that they would receive due process. And, honestly, why should they? Similar raids across the country have proven that the rights of most of those detained are not respected. And a spirit of arrogance and contempt for immigrants that have defined so many ICE raids across the country seemed in full force here on an Island where a Brazilian population of immigrants is successfully woven into the fabric of the community.
Some of these agents had clear markings for the DEA and FBI or ICE, but some did not and refused to say who they were. At least one brandished a tattoo known as a “valknot,” which has a long history and a modern affiliation with white nationalism. The situation was confusing and alarming not only to the immigrants, mostly hardworking Brazilian men, but also to the local police departments from the five small towns that make up the Island off Cape Cod.
During the raid, which appears to be ongoing, more than 40 people have been arrested on the Cape and islands and about half of those took place on Martha’s Vineyard. Those arrested were seen handcuffed with zip ties in the fishing port of Menemsha and being marched onto Coast Guard boats and taken to the mainland for processing. The images have created a wave of fear and anxiety that has crashed across the shores of the island. Most Brazilian workers are staying away from their jobs in construction, landscaping, house cleaning and restaurants, while parents are not sending their children to school, where their children make up more than 40 percent of the student population. Federal agents have operated on the Island on many occasions in past years, going back to the administration of President Obama, in specific operations to arrest and deport immigrants with outstanding arrest warrants. But no one came with masks and the officials identified themselves and the purpose of the arrests.
But this raid is perceived differently, and there are some locals who are pushing back against these current ICE raids and who are standing up in support of neighbors, friends and co-workers. Those who are resisting include business owners and community leaders. They are the same kind of folks who came together to support the 50 Venezuelan immigrants who Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his team tricked into loading on a chartered plane with false promises of jobs and housing and then dumped them at the Martha’s Vineyard airport. It was a political stunt by DeSantis’ and operatives who wanted to embarrass the island, known for its liberal politics. But, actually, the stunt backfired and presented an opportunity for Martha’s Vineyard residents to show their respect and support for immigrants by taking them in and making sure they were cared for and properly treated. A handful of the Venezuelans elected to stay on the Island. And the Venezuelans are in the process of a civil case against DeSantis and his crew. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is in an ongoing legal battle seeking to have all 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants have their Temporary Protected Status revoked.
The idea of Martha’s Vineyard as a frontline in the political battle over immigration policy is not new, but what has emerged over the last few days were some new strategies of confrontation. They include: a strong show of solidarity by church leaders who have issued a statement of support for immigrants and condemning the raids; and a few brash citizen journalists – or advocates – who have taken to quite literally getting up in the face – or at least the masks covering those faces– of the federal agents, and demanding that they identify themselves and explain their reasons for making arrests.
In one video, Charlie Giordano, a local man who sells motorcycle parts, used his iPhone to confront a masked agent on Tuesday in a heated verbal assault where he asked who the agent represented and why he was making the arrests. The masked man gave Giordano what he called an “official warning” that if he interfered, he would be arrested. A local police officer named Noah Stobie was able to calmly defuse the tense situation by informing both Giordano and the masked federal “agent,” if that is really his title, that any citizen has every right to videotape an action taking place on a public street under his First Amendment rights. Other residents also have been videotaping the agents as an act of civic vigilance and some held up protest signs.
Giordano told the MV Times on Wednesday. “I don’t care for injustice. I don’t care for bullies. I think words are who you want to be, and actions are who you are,” adding that “everyone says they would’ve stood up to the Nazis back in the day. This is your chance. We have to safeguard democracy and prevent tyranny.”
Local politicians have also challenged the legality of the ICE tactics.
Massachusetts state Sen. Julian Cyr, who represents the Cape and Islands, said in a statement that "the operation appears to have gone far beyond any targeted effort." He said work vans were pulled over on both islands and people "were questioned without clear cause."
"While federal officials continue to cite the arrest of two individuals with criminal histories, that does not justify these broad, indiscriminate tactics with little regard for due process," Cyr said.
The Supreme Court unanimously stated last month in a per curiam (unsigned) opinion that "Detainees are entitled to notice and opportunity to be heard appropriate to the nature of the case.".
Lost in all the legal coverage and in the high-level of emotion and anxiety over these raids are the portraits of who these members of the community who are being taken away really are. I know this because I live here on Martha’s Vineyard and I am the publisher of the MVTimes newspaper, which serves this community, including a translation service of all articles for those who speak Brazilian Portuguese and other languages on an increasingly diverse Island.
Our reporters know the community, and one of them hails from Minas Gerais, the same region of Brazil from where most of the immigrants come from. Still, our newsroom has struggled to get even basic information from an ICE spokesman and therefore unable to confirm names and personal narratives that will challenge the stark press release from ICE that states only that 40 were arrested on Martha’s Vineyard, neighboring Nantucket and Cape Cod, including: “one documented gang member” and one “child sex offender.” The ICE officials fail to offer details of those allegations or to explain who the other 38 people arrested are and in so doing they create a false impression that those arrested are “illegal.”
They may be “undocumented” or they may be working on achieving a work visa, but it does not mean they should be denied due process, including the right to know who the person is behind the mask and why they are being taken into detention. They should not be denied their right to an attorney or to make a call from the detention center off island in Burlington, MA where they were being processed.
To counter that narrative, let me tell you about what we know about one of those men arrested today who was pulled from a van stacked with ladders from the company he works for, which is owned by his younger brother, Christian Miller.
The man who was arrested is Jormy Miller, and he hails from what those who know him say is a respected and successful family within the island’s Brazilian community. Their trucks feature a fish symbol and they are ubiquitous in what seems to be a sprawling and successful enterprise to build pools, to do landscaping and construction, which falls under the corporate name of Millers’ Professionals. The family also runs the Millers’ Foundation, a registered non-profit that, according to its website, serves poor communities in Brazil by building wells for fresh drinking water and other community services. They are also active in philanthropy on the island, supporting local causes and their local church’s efforts to help the community.
A local advocate for immigrants who knows the Miller family said she could not give her name because “sadly, we know about life in an autocracy and we know how vulnerable that can make you.” She was referring to Brazil’s history under military dictatorship but also under the populist leader Jair Bolsonaro who, while president from 2019 to 2023, was referred to as the “Trump of the Tropics.”
“The Brazilian community is very afraid right now and they are also experiencing sadness because they realize this effort will not stop and that many will have to leave and pull up the roots they have here,” she added.
She said that Jormy Miller is likely to sign the “self deportation” forms that will allow him to leave the federal detention center to fly back to Brazil as long as he has the funds to pay for his own flight, which his family has apparently arranged. That would indicate that he is not facing any criminal charges, but ICE declined to answer any questions about his legal status.
It seems there is a process still evolving for those who’ve been arrested, but our reporting on the ground indicates that the Trump administration has been targeting immigrants in what may be a quota for arrests to make this program financially viable as a way to reduce the immigrant population in the United States. Advocates for immigrants say they have heard that these raids will continue on the island in the weeks ahead.
The woman who knows the family said, “I think people are being given the wrong impression of the Brazilian community through these raids and through the way ICE is framing the arrests. The truth is the vast majority of those arrested are honest, hard-working people.”
She added that there is a kind of silver lining in the dark cloud over the Brazilian community on Martha’s Vineyard:
“I think this crisis right now has people pulling together, making the community stronger. They are looking out for each other. Those who have documentation are picking up kids at school or going to the grocery store for those who may be worried about their immigration status or in the process of applying for a work permit. And we are seeing the wider community of the Island also offer to show support and to help.”
That is a form of dissent, she said, since authoritarian regimes, whether under Brazil’s Bolsonaro or Trump, want us to stay divided. That’s their goal as part of a strategy to divide and rule, and, she added, “hopefully people are going to do their best to defy that and find a way to help each other through a very difficult moment.
This story was edited to reflect new information on June 1, 2025
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I sure wish news gathering organizations with national reach would cover this story as humanely and fairly as you and The MV Times have!
As a fellow islander, I found this article to be excellent. Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone can truly understand what our community experienced on that terrible day. What frightens me even more is the presence of “federal agents” standing in the US Coast Guard station, taking pictures of everyone who was there protesting their actions. A friend of mine captured a chilling image where you can see the reflection of a camera lens off the sunlight in the dark room where they were standing. What are their intentions in photographing people calmly and peacefully protesting against what was happening?