After a slew of illegal immigrants were nabbed on this idyllic island by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for sex crimes and assault over the course of a month, many residents fear their home has changed forever.
Five migrants from Guatemala and El Salvador were picked up by Enforcement and Removal Operations of Boston in separate actions this month. Elmer Sola and Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo were charged for sex crimes against children, per the agency; Felix Alberto Perez-Gomez and Gean Do Amaral Belafronte were charged with sex crimes against adults; and Angel Gabriel Deras-Mejia was a documented member of the notorious gang MS-13.
Immigrants – many who have obtained H2B visas for seasonal work – are a vital part of Nantucket's tourism industry and make up a large portion of the summer vacation spot's year-round population. Multiple local bars, like The Muse, host packed Latino nights each week; 41.5% of students in Nantucket's public schools speak a language other than English at home, per online school district data.
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While residents told Fox News Digital they embrace the legal immigrants in their community, many expressed deep concerns about those here illegally. It's those unwelcome newcomers, they say, who have brought the nation's border debate to the tiny island off Cape Cod.
"I've lived here for 53 years – I've seen a large uptick in crime. I've never seen this kind of child abuse that I've seen in the last several years," a man in his 70s, who asked not to be named, said outside one of two Nantucket grocery stores. "I never knew where the keys to our house were. Now, I have security cameras."
"When I moved here in the '70s, Nantucket was a very conservative spot. [Now], most of the U.S.-born people are entirely liberal here. We have good friends that we cannot talk politics with," the man said.
"They don't want to face the realities – the reality is that the open border has created an influx of undocumented people. As the statistics came out, there is a rampant amount of crime," he said, referring to ICE data released to lawmakers this week.
"The response is 'What can we do about it?' When I said 'Send them back,' it was scoffed at," he said.
Several residents told Fox News Digital that in the past, the worst incidents that took place involved drunken tourists accidentally walking into the wrong grey-shingled house. But the local newspaper's crime blotter has grown darker and more voluminous, they said.
John Klatt, who works with Toscana Excavation, told Fox News Digital that he was glad ICE made the arrests earlier this month.
"My company, we're one of the largest excavating companies on the island," he said. "It doesn't affect us a whole lot because we wouldn't hire [undocumented people]. But I'm sure it affects plenty of other people [here]."
"I hear from minorities like, 'Oh, they're beating up on us' and all that," he said. "But looking at their crimes, I'm not upset about it."
Fox News Digital has spoken to about a dozen illegal immigrants on the island, primarily Salvadorans, who said the targeted arrests of repeat criminals last month have left them frightened for their livelihoods.
"It’s frightening for so many," Esmeralda Martinez, who is serving her second term on the Nantucket School Committee and is the only Latina to ever hold elected office on the island, told the Nantucket Current. "People are hiding in fear that they might be here for them even though most don’t have a criminal record, but for the mere fact that they are not legally here. It has caused panic for many."
Martinez did not return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
"We're not trying to round up all the illegals – just the ones who are violent members of MS-13," another resident who asked not to be named told Fox News Digital outside the Chicken Box, an event venue on the island where locals often pass time during the daylight hours.
Island resident Roland Voyage said the ICE arrests hadn't impacted his sense of safety.
"I park my car, I leave my keys in it. Where are they going to take it, the ferry company? To be candid, my friends and family aren't impacted by it. [But] it's nice to see that ICE is doing its job," he said.
But 61-year-old Jack Faria, a Brazilian who lives on Nantucket and legally immigrated to the United States when he was 20, said other immigrants who "aren't on the right path" bring "trouble."
"There was a burglary in my neighborhood. These people leave their keys on their car," Faria said. "These guys, they happened to be Brazilians. I know – I'm Brazilian."
"I don't discriminate – I'm one of them. But I do discriminate against people who just want to take advantage of the system," he said. "I'm a Republican – I totally agree with Trump and mass deportation of immigrants."
"There are a lot of bad people here," Faria said in relation to undocumented immigration. "Most [illegal immigrants] are poor people – it means they have less education and less to contribute. These are the ones I don't really like."
"Right now, I'm paying the very high price of health insurance. A lot of people on the island have insurance for free," Faria said. "Someone who doesn't have any papers or pay any taxes has free health care – I don't."
