Fear grips idyllic Nantucket amid surge in migrant crime: ‘Lots of bad people’

NANTUCKET, Mass. – After a lot illegal immigrants After being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on sex crimes and assault charges on this idyllic island over the course of a month, many residents fear their home has changed forever.

Five migrants from Guatemala and El Salvador were there picked up by Enforcement and Removal Operations of Boston in separate promotions this month. Elmer Sola and Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo were charged with sex crimes against children, according to the department; 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 MS-13 gang.

Immigrants – many of whom have received H2B visas for seasonal work – are an important part of Nantucket’s tourism industry and make up a large portion of the summer resort’s year-round population. Several local bars like The Muse host packed Latino nights every week. According to online school district data, 41.5% of students in Nantucket Public Schools speak a language other than English at home.

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While residents told Fox News Digital that they welcome legal immigrants to their community, many expressed deep concerns about those living here illegally. It is these unwelcome newcomers, they say, who have brought the country’s border debate to the tiny island off Cape Cod.

“I’ve lived here for 53 years – I’ve seen a sharp increase in crime. I’ve never seen this kind of child abuse in the last few years,” asked a man in his 70s. “Name withheld,” people 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 place. [Now]Most of the people born in the US here are completely liberal. “We have good friends with whom we can’t talk politics,” the man said.

“They don’t want to face the reality – the reality is that the open border has led to an influx of undocumented people. According to the statistics, there is rampant crime,” he said, referring to the situation ICE data was presented to lawmakers this week.

“The answer is, ‘What can we do about it?’ When I said ‘send her back’ it was mocked,” he said.

Several residents told Fox News Digital that the worst incidents in the past involved drunk tourists accidentally entering the wrong gray-roofed house. But the local newspaper’s crime brochure has become darker and more extensive, they said.

John Klatt, who works for Toscana Excavation, told Fox News Digital he was glad ICE made the arrests earlier this month.

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“My company is one of the largest excavation companies on the island,” he said. “It doesn’t affect us much because we wouldn’t be hiring [undocumented people]. But I’m sure it affects many other people [here].”

“I hear from minorities like, ‘Oh, they’re beating us up,’ and so on,” he said. “But when I look at their crimes, I’m not upset about it.”

Fox News Digital spoke to about a dozen illegal immigrants on the island, mostly Salvadorans, who said last month’s targeted arrests of repeat offenders had left them fearful for their livelihoods.

“It’s scary for so many,” said 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 Nantucket Stream. “People are hiding out of fear that they might be here because of them, even though most of them have no criminal record, but simply because they are not here legally. That caused a lot of panic.”

Martinez did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

“We’re not trying to round up all illegals – just those who are violent members of MS-13,” another resident, who asked not to be named, told Fox News Digital outside the Chicken Box, a venue on the island where locals often spend their time during the day.

Islander Roland Voyage said the ICE arrests have not affected his sense of security.

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“I park my car and leave my keys in it. Where should they take it, to the ferry company? To be honest, my friends and family are not affected by this.” [But] “It’s nice to see ICE doing its job,” he said.

But 61-year-old Jack Faria, a Brazilian who lives on Nantucket and immigrated to the United States legally when he was 20, said other immigrants who are “not on the right track” are bringing “trouble.”

“There was a break-in in my neighborhood. “These people leave their keys in their car,” Faria said. “Those guys happened to be Brazilian. “I know – I’m Brazilian.”

“I don’t discriminate – I’m one of them. But I discriminate against people who just want to take advantage of the system,” he said. “I’m a Republican – I completely agree with Trump and the mass deportation of immigrants.”

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“There are a lot of bad people here,” Faria said, referring to illegal immigration. “The most [illegal immigrants] are poor people – this means they have less education and can contribute less. These are the ones I don’t really like.

“Right now I’m paying the very high price for health insurance. Many people on the island have free insurance,” said Faria. “Those who have no papers and don’t pay taxes have free health care – not me.”