Nantucket’s migrant crisis handling called out after quiet island rocked by wave of violent attacks

Elmer Sola and Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo were charged with sex crimes against children; 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 MS-13, the agency said.

NANTUCKET PARENTS FEAR FOR CHILDREN AMID SPIKE IN MIGRANT CRIME: ‘AS A FATHER IT TRULY SCARES ME’

“This was not a surprise to us,” Brown said. “When you follow the court reports in the last year or so, there have been quite a bit of violent arrests… maybe it was surprising ICE came out here, but not surprising that they had to come out here.”

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.

Local bars, like The Muse, host packed Latino nights each week, and 41.5% of students in Nantucket’s public schools speak a language other than English at home, according to online school district data. 

Brown said most immigrants on the idyllic island off the coast of Cape Cod are good and active community members, including those residing there illegally. Many of his friends and coworkers are immigrants, he said. But many residents are still concerned about those who may be running from violent pasts in their home countries.

“We owe it to our immigrants who have come here, whether they’re legal or not,” he said. “There’s a lot of them that just want a better life. And they come here and they’re doing the best they can. They raise their children here and they don’t want this crime.”

“They didn’t come to Nantucket to live the way they did back in El Salvador or Mexico or wherever they came from,” he added.

WEALTHY, LIBERAL NANTUCKET, MARTHA’S VINEYARD SEE 6 ICE ARRESTS IN ONE MONTH, INCLUDING MS-13 GANG MEMBER

Brown said whether someone is in the country illegally is less important to him than whether they’re “good people” and whether they’ve been vetted by employers, landlords and others in positions to help keep the island safe.

2 MARTHA’S VINEYARD ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRESTED ON SAME DAY IN LATEST ICE BUSTS ON WEALTHY, LIBERAL ISLANDS

“I ask that I hope that employers, landlords, everybody just, we just need to vet out people and, you know, and maybe there are more ways we can do that,” Brown said. 

“When I started my business in 2002, I wanted to make sure I hired good people for my family and my community… I really tried to vet [employees],” said Brown, who owns a lawn sprinkler company. “I would just feel horrible if, because of me wanting to make a little more money or being a little more lazy, that I just hire somebody and I hope all goes well. And [that hire] committed some heinous crime.

“We’re are all human beings. [But] my biggest thing is, I want my family to be safe. I want you to be safe. That’s what we need in this country, is for people to be safe.”