NORTHAMPTON — Claims made in anonymous phone calls to local officials that Northampton and Amherst are set to receive busloads of migrants sent by the Republican governor of Texas are likely false, according to a joint statement from both communities Friday.
“At this point, the best information we have is that these reports were false — for the moment,” the statement reads. Nevertheless, government agencies and nonprofits throughout the region “have created a roadmap for how we would respond” to unexpected arrivals from any states involved in the scheme to ship migrants north — presently Texas, Florida and Arizona.
On Thursday, Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra said her office and Amherst Town Hall received anonymous phone calls from someone using a blocked number and claiming to represent Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. The caller said the communities were chosen to receive migrants “based on our designation as sanctuary cities,” according to Sciarra.
The call came on the same day that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took credit for sending two planeloads of about 50 people in total to Martha’s Vineyard without notifying local officials, although at least one of the flights originated in Texas.
Nonprofit organizations, politicians and citizen volunteers pitched in to meet the immediate needs of the mostly Venezuelan families, and Gov. Charlie Baker — a Republican like Abbott and DeSantis — offered them shelter at Joint Base Cape Cod.
The joint statement Friday emphasized that local governments have emergency response systems and officials in place that are “aligned and prepared,” and the area has a “robust network of social service agencies and other advocates ready and willing to stand up on a moment’s notice.”
“This has strengthened our relationships and communication with each other in ways that serve all of western Massachusetts,” the statement reads.
The Venezuelan migrants who were flown to Martha’s Vineyard from San Antonio on Wednesday said they were told they were going to Boston.
DeSantis took from the playbook of Abbott by surprising Democratic strongholds with large influxes of migrants. Providing little or no information to the immigrants and officials at their destinations was part of the plan.
“They were told that they would have a job and they would have housing,” said Elizabeth Folcarelli, who leads Martha’s Vineyard Community Services and described the scramble for shelter as a “huge challenge.”
Julio Henriquez, an attorney who met with several of the migrants, said they “had no idea of where they were going or where they were.”
Two flights to Martha’s Vineyard stopped in the Florida Panhandle, Henriquez said. While on board, migrants got brochures and maps of Massachusetts.
An unsigned letter told migrants to notify U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of address changes, though another agency, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is responsible for tracking migrants, Henriquez said. “This is terrible advice,” he said.
Many immigrants have appointments with ICE on Sept. 19 in San Antonio. Others were ordered to report to immigration authorities in two weeks to three months in cities including Philadelphia and Washington.
U.S. officials told immigration attorneys that required check-ins would be postponed, Henriquez said. Homeland Security officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
In San Antonio, a Latina woman approached migrants at a city-run shelter and put them up at a nearby La Quinta Inn, where she visited daily with food and gift cards, Henriquez said. She promised jobs and three months of housing in Washington, New York, Philadelphia and Boston.
The city of San Antonio was unaware of the flights, said Maria Villagomez, deputy city manager.
On Friday, the migrants were being moved voluntarily to a military base on nearby Cape Cod. Republican Gov. Charlie Baker said he would activate up to 125 National Guard members to assist the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.
DeSantis said Friday the migrants “intended to come to Florida” and going to Martha’s Vineyard was “all voluntary.” He did not address the migrants’ claims that they were told they were going to Boston, which is 90 miles away.
Texas has bused about 8,000 migrants to Washington since April, including more than 100 Thursday to Vice President Kamala Harris’ home. It also has bused about 2,200 to New York and 300 to Chicago.
Arizona has bused more than 1,800 migrants to Washington since May, but has kept officials on the receiving end informed of the plans. The city of El Paso, Texas, has sent at least 1,135 migrants on 28 buses to New York since Aug. 23 and, like Arizona, shares passenger rosters and other information.
Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said his administration has reached out to Texas but gets no information. The first migrants arrived at Chicago’s Union Station from Texas on Aug. 31.
Abbott’s office dismissed complaints about lack of coordination and keeping immigrant-friendly cities guessing about the governor’s next moves as he tries to stoke opposition to President Joe Biden’s border policies.
“Instead of complaining about fulfilling their sanctuary city promises, these Democrat hypocrites should call on President Biden to do his job and secure the border — something the president continues failing to do,” spokeswoman Renae Eze said Thursday.
Arizona has been working since May through the Regional Center for Border Health, which runs clinics for low-income patients in Yuma. Several days a week, a bus heads east from a clinic office in suburban Somerton.
Amanda Aguirre, the health care provider’s CEO, said she told Republican Gov. Doug Ducey’s staff that she wouldn’t participate without close coordination. Arizona established information-sharing protocols from the start with Carecen, a nonprofit group that assists migrants in Washington, Aguirre said.
“I will never allow people just being dropped in the street because that’s what I’m trying to prevent here in Yuma, being just dropped in the street,” Aguirre said.
Some migrants have been unaffected by the chaos.
Cleiver Rodriguez of Venezuela said he appreciated the free ride from Texas to New York, where he came looking for work.
“I don’t have any kind of opinion because at least they helped me get here,” Rodriguez, 24, said as he left a shelter.
Brian Steele can be reached at bsteele@gazettenet.com. This story includes reporting by the Associated Press.