Report: Green-based charter flew immigrants from Florida to Martha's Vineyard

Craig Webb, Akron Beacon Journal
·2 min read
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A Summit County-based charter company finds itself in the midst of the national immigration debate.

Two aircrafts from Ultimate Jet Charters based out of the Akron-Canton Airport in Green reportedly flew about 50 immigrants from Florida to Martha's Vineyard.

The unexpected arrival of the immigrants on Wednesday to the island just south of Cape Cod that is a popular summer destination for tourists made national headlines and left residents and officials there scrambling to find a place to shelter the new arrivals.

It was just the latest salvo in a growing immigration debate between states like Florida, Texas and Arizona with President Joe Biden and those states that declared themselves so-called sanctuaries for immigrants.

Immigrants gather with their belongings Wednesday outside St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Edgartown, Mass., on Martha's Vineyard. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis chartered two planes of immigrants to Martha's Vineyard, escalating a tactic by Republican governors to draw attention to what they consider to be the Biden administration's failed border policies.

As of Friday:Migrants sent from Florida to Martha’s Vineyard are now headed to Cape Cod military base

These states have also dropped immigrants off in New York City and even Washington, D.C., at the doorstep of Vice President Kamala Harris.

The immigrants flew to Martha's Vineyard via two Ultimate Jet Charters that arrived about 30 minutes apart at behest of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the news site MassLive reported.

Taryn Fenske, DeSantis’ communications director, told MassLive that “states like Massachusetts, New York, and California will better facilitate the care of these individuals who they have invited into our country by incentivizing illegal immigration through their designation as ‘sanctuary states’ and support for the Biden Administration’s open border policies.”

The Associated Press has reported that the Venezuelan migrants flew from Texas to the Florida Panhandle where they were handed brochures and maps of Massachusetts before the aircrafts took off again for flights to Martha's Vineyard.

DeSantis' take:Florida Gov. DeSantis says 50 people flown to Martha's Vineyard are 'illegal immigrants'

Some of the immigrants reportedly told journalists that they had no idea where they were being shipped off to when they boarded the planes in San Antonio. Some thought they were headed to Boston, about three hours away from Martha's Vineyard.

Officials from Ultimate Jet Charters, which was hired by the state of Florida to transport the immigrants to Massachusetts, did not return a call seeking comment.

Founded in 1984, the charter company specializes in private flights for businesses, sports teams and private travel excursions throughout the country.

Craig Webb can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Immigrants flown to Martha's Vineyard by Ohio charter