Nearly 50 Venezuelan asylum seekers who were flown to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts in a political stunt by Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis using taxpayer dollars may now apply for a visa to stay in the United States thanks to a Texas sheriff declaring them victims of a crime, WGBH in Boston reports.
“Based upon the claims of migrants being transported from Bexar County under false pretenses, we are investigating this case as possible Unlawful Restraint,” Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said in a statement. “We have submitted documentation through the federal system to ensure the migrants’ availability as witnesses during the investigation.”
Salazar’s declaration now allows the migrants, who were in the United States legally due to their status as asylum seekers, may now apply to stay in the United States via a Class U visa, which allow victims of crime and witnesses to crimes to stay in the country. These visas were designed to help victims of crime–particularly human trafficking–to assist law enforcement to investigate and prosecute crimes.