For Luciano Dacol, last Tuesday began as just another day at work. A Brazilian immigrant who works on the Island, he took the ferry from Falmouth in the early morning, as he does most days, joining a small army of laborers who make the crossing to work as carpenters, landscapers, housecleaners, and in other services.
A colleague driving the company’s van was there to pick him up, as usual. The only thing special about this day was that Dacol’s future son-in-law, who had just arrived with his daughter from Brazil, was joining him. He had not seen his daughter since 2022, and he was thrilled to have a chance to spend time with his future son-in-law and show him the Island.
Dacol, 48, who had immigrated from Brazil in 2018, explained, “I saw on WhatsApp groups that there was an ICE raid on the Island, but I thought I would have no problem because I carried my documents.”
To him, this was America, where the rule of law prevails. He was not worried. But as he would soon learn, he should have been.
He was stopped along the Edgartown-–Vineyard Haven Road by federal agents wearing tactical vests; there was no apparent reason for him being pulled over. He showed his work permit and his Social Security number to the officers. The MV Times has interviewed Dacol from inside the detention center where he is still being held, spoken with his family, and reviewed the legal documents related to his immigration status. The portrait that emerges is of someone who was picked up in a broad and indiscriminate sweep of the Island’s Brazilian community, and a confusing and tangled process that the federal agents seem to be pursuing in what is believed to be an ongoing campaign.
“They said they would let me go only if I had a green card, and that those documents were worthless,” Dacol said, trying to respectfully state that it was his understanding that his documentation was in order.
The officer then detained him, adding, “You are in limbo.”
At that point, Dacol asked the officers to identify themselves, but he said they refused to, and did not explain why he was being stopped. After an interview, it was unclear what the specific charge he was being detained for was.
Dacol is one of more than 40 people arrested on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket in an ICE raid last week that has spread fear among not only undocumented immigrants but also documented immigrants, who are afraid their rights to due process are effectively being revoked by agents who in several cases documented by The MV Times did not even bother to identify themselves. American citizens who support migrants have also been affected, and see the apparent lack of due process as a threat to democracy and the rule of law. The officers covered their faces, and while ICE officials have stated that the raids are targeted at those with criminal records, they have released only minimal information about the people who were detained and why they were stopped. The MV Times has contacted family members and community leaders in an effort to share the details of the real lives behind this aggressive campaign by ICE that seems to be broadly directed at the Island’s vibrant and thriving Brazilian community, which represents an estimated 20 percent of the year-round population, or about 4,000 people.
Dacol said he arrived on the Island in 2018 and then overstayed his tourist visa, and stretched that during the pandemic. But after the pandemic, he married a green card holder, and said he himself applied for a green card. While he’s waiting for his approval, he received a work permit, which was shared with the MV Times, from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. The MV Times searched court records, and didn’t find any criminal arrests or records for Dacol locally or in Dukes County. The MV Times also reached out to Brazilian authorities, who declined to provide any personal information about those arrested.
The officers also tried to detain Dacol’s future son-in-law, but the 48-year-old argued with the officers for his release, showing his passport with a valid tourist visa and a recent entry stamp. “They asked for an I-94 [a form that shows someone’s travel history in the U.S.] and for a permanent visa. It seemed they wanted to find a reason to take him,” Dacol said.
His future son-in-law was eventually released as a tourist.
Dacol said the actions of the officers suggested an intention to make as many arrests as possible, saying, “I think they are only thinking about numbers. When we were in the van, they were counting people, and saying how many more they needed.”
Trump has publicly stated a goal to surpass the number of deportations by previous administrations, including Island summer resident Barack Obama, who is reported to have had the highest number of deportations of immigrants of any recent president.
While ICE said agents are masked for their protection, activists see it as a lack of transparency. Dacol said he tried to take a video with his cellphone, and the only agent he saw without a mask then covered his face, too. Since then, the cellphone has been confiscated. Islander Charlie Giordano went viral for confronting and asking for identification from ICE agents on May 27, and other Islanders also told The MV Times that they asked for identification and didn’t get any information. Now Giordano is trying to help Dacol by publicizing a fundraiser for the immigrant on his Instagram.
Meanwhile, Dacol’s daughter and her boyfriend canceled all their plans for a vacation, and are staying at home waiting for calls from Dacol, who’s in the Plymouth County Correctional Facility, and afraid to leave the house. This is true especially for the 21-year-old future son-in-law. “I’m still in shock, scared. I felt oppressed. Even though I didn’t do anything wrong, I’m afraid,” he told The Times.
ICE shackled immigrants’ hands and feet with zip ties and brought them to its processing center in Burlington. “The treatment was inhumane,” Dacol said of sleeping on the floor in a crowded space. “There wasn’t space for everyone, so two or three slept on the bathroom floor,” he said. He added the detainees have better conditions in Plymouth.
People who knew Dacol describe him as someone who helped everyone. “He’s a gentle giant,” said an individual who has worked with Luciano but wants to be anonymous, fearing repercussions. “He’s huge. 6 foot 3 — big, burly guy. Super, super kind and compassionate — a loving guy,” he said. “He would give me a big hug every time we saw him, and he wouldn’t hurt a fly. Very hard-working. A quality, quality person.”
Dacol’s colleague who picked him up at the ferry is also a cherished member of the community, according to those who know him.
His name is Luan Padilha dos Santos, 29, and he had been living on the Island for a little over a year.
“He was helping to pay for his grandfather’s cancer treatment,” said a family member who asked not to be identified because of their immigration status. “He is very sweet, very hard-working,” the family member added. “He is a quiet person who hates to bother people. He also likes to cook, and was always sharing dinner and cakes he baked.”
Dos Santos bought a piece of land to build a house in Brazil, one of his goals. “He has a lot of goals and dreams; he wanted to build a home and help his brother and his grandparents,” his family member said. In Brazil, he was a driving instructor. The MV Times didn’t find any criminal or civil record for Dos Santos in Dukes County.
Dos Santos rented a basement for more than a year from C.D., a retired American citizen, who was disheartened to learn he had been detained. She preferred not to give her full name because she fears becoming a target of online hate. “Why aren’t they just looking for the bad people? Why are they getting the good people? The Island needs these workers,” she said. “It’s such a disservice to the community to take the good people. This boy was wonderful.”
She said that Dos Santos is a “wicked hard worker” who would leave around 7 am and get back around 8 pm, and work six to seven days a week. He would cook and offer dinner, and take care of her cat during an emergency; he painted her guesthouse, and didn’t even want to be paid for it. He celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas with her family, and he was starting to learn English to be able to talk to them without using his phone to translate.
“I hope they are treating him well. His birthday is coming up, and I hope he is able to spend it with his family, not in prison. And I hope he can come back. I would take him back in a heartbeat.”
Another Brazilian immigrant detained on his way to work was J.M.J., whose family asked that we use only his initials. A father of two, he was known for helping his community through church, and for being a fun father. With tired eyes and dark circles below them, his wife, S.M.F., spoke to The MV Times about her husband, and also asked that she be identified only by initials. She said her family of four, with two children in elementary school, arrived on the Vineyard three years ago, and even before last week’s raid, had already bought tickets to go back to Brazil in mid-July.
She also added that J.M.J. has a stable job as a biochemist at a state agency in Brazil, and had taken a three-year sabbatical while his wife worked for a public water and sewage department.
“We thought about staying longer, but when all the uncertainties about immigration started with the Trump administration, we had decided to go back,” she said, adding, “We came in search of educational opportunities for our children, not only financial opportunities.”
“My kids started school during the pandemic, so the first time they went in person to school was here,” she said. Her 9-year-old son started speaking English within six months, and is now fully bilingual.
With a shirt that reads “gratitude” in Portuguese, she said J.M.J. is a wonderful father. “He’s very chill, and an excellent dad. He’s so good, sometimes he spoils the kids. At sleep time he always gives them half an hour more, and lets them watch a movie or eat popcorn. He’s always planning to secretly do what the kids want outside the schedule I give them,” she said.
With tears in her eyes, she said she feels like a widow with a living husband, and even though it has only been a week, already misses getting back home to him. At the same time, she’s concerned about her kids’ suffering at the moment; “The way they removed him from here … it’s kind of inhumane, right? We try to understand that’s their job, but I try not to remember the images I saw of him sitting on that boat floor, so it hurts me less.”
The MV Times also didn’t find criminal or civil records for J.M.J. locally or in Dukes County.
Dacol has given up fighting for his case in the U.S., and opted for deportation: “I don’t want to be in limbo, as they said. The Trump administration will last for three more years. There’s no guarantee that they will not arrest me again, even if I carry a bail proof,” he said. “This process is too inhumane, I don’t want to go through it again.”
This week, the Brazilian community has been hiding in the shadows, and a wave of fear has flooded the community. At the same time, the community is trying to support one another as much as possible by offering help to those who are concerned about their legal status. Many workers in the construction, landscaping, and housecleaning services have not been showing up in recent days, according to many employers. Even immigrants who have become American citizens noted that they have been carrying their passport in case of another stop. Church services in different predominantly Brazilian congregations were also canceled last week in the aftermath of the ICE raid that detained not only criminals, but several immigrants without criminal records.
The first service after the raid at one of the several Brazilian evangelical churches on the Island saw 20 percent less attendance than its average of a hundred people. But the pastor reminded the churchgoers who showed up that God can help overcome the fear.
President Pastor José Carlos Ribeiro read the Bible passages of the book of Exodus at Comunidade Evangélica Koinonia in Tisbury. He spoke about when Moses led Jewish people out of Egypt, the pharaoh’s army chasing them. Then, the impossible happened: God opened the Red Sea for God’s people, and engulfed the Egyptians.
From a pulpit decorated with bread, grapes, and a golden paten celebrating Jesus’ last supper, Ribeiro said to his flock that sometimes in life, “There’s the sea, there’s a pharaoh, there’s Trump, there’s ICE, but, above all, there’s the Lord, and he will be with us.” The congregation then clapped effusively.
Thank you for this excellent reporting. I feel terrible for our neighbors’ who are suffering such fear and anxiety. Although I am a US citizen, I have begun to wonder if we are all in danger of losing our due process rights.
If you are here legally you have nothing to worry about. What is so hard to understand about this.
This is gonna blow your mind but you don’t get to seek asylum just because you want to live in a nicer country.
Why take such an angry tone? All I said was that I feel sorry for our neighbors who are suffering and that I was concerned about due process. Surely, we can exchange ideas without being insulting.
Buried within this story is that he arrived in 2018 then his visa expired and he overstayed and then married a green card holder(as if that gives him legitimacy) and then applied for a green card. He is defacto illegal for about 6 years. Why wouldnt he be apprehended. The entire article is designed to show support for illegals and to damn the authorities. If I went to a foreign country on a tourist visa and overstayed for 6 years I think someone would come and get me
Andy — When you came into this country we welcomed hard working intelligent people. You were one of them. But the policies of the trump regime don’t take that into consideration. He and his racist cult members view immigrants as criminals. It is no longer a matter of simply filling out the paperwork, and paying the exorbitant fees. — But for $5 million I guess you can get in regardless if you made your money as a kingpin drug dealer or slave trader for Dubai– We live in an era where internationally recognized laws and mores are no longer relevant in this country. But the larger issue is the degradation of the rules that apply to our law enforcement organizations and officials. In America, we have rights protecting anyone in this country against unreasonable search and seizure. SCOTUS decisions have repeatedly forbid racial profiling as a reason to stop a vehicle. They have also repeatedly affirmed that ANY suspected criminals arrested in the United States are afforded the right to Habeas Corpus. And to address James Tasmak’s comment. You actually do have a legal right to apply for asylum if your life or the life of you immediate family members are threatened,
You conveniently forget to mention that he was issued a work permit and a SSN. So, as the work permit date is not given, you have no idea how many of those 6 years he was actually here legally. Obviously the government does not agree with you else he would not have been issued a work permit or SSN during or after the overstay.
I did not see he was issued a SS number. I might be wrong. He is here illegally.
Source?
The article says he has a work permit.
They were just “following orders”
This is about American fascism. We’re losing our country.
Very enlighting story that fills me with sadness. How did this country become so cruel? The only reason to hide your face now is to hide your shame for your actions.
I’m hoping someone can answer this for me: can I buy a ticket and fly to Brazil and live there full time and get a job without actually having legal permission to do so? What will happen if I reveal my deeds? Or should I keep them a secret for some reason and what would that reason be?
Not trying to play what-about-ism here but just sincerely curious why these people from Brazil think that they should be able to get away with what I’m pretty sure I could not get away with in Brazil.
People do not flee the US due to grinding poverty and political oppression.
Grinding poverty and political oppression exists for approx 2 billion people. Should we open or borders and let them all in. Bill Simpson posted a reasonable opinion and you come back with that.
I generally have a policy to not reply to the consistently ridiculous and obnoxious comments you make but I will make an exception today.
Based on how you hear the left talking about the state of affairs in our country (ie nazi, hitler, constitutional crisis, threat to democracy, fascism etc etc), I’d beg to differ with your assessment of democrats today. Maybe you are unaware of the amount of middle and upper class people who threatened to leave our country and move to Canada? Maybe you are unaware of the Hollywood types that actually have moved to Europe because they dislike the democratically elected choice we made as a country for president. Ironically, I have not heard of any of them choosing Brazil as a destination though. The postcards make it look like such a nice place too.
The system there would be very unaccommodating to your goals.
He has a work permit and SSN so he does have legal permission.
Although everyone’s thoughts are valuable, I am not one to agree. When you break/bend the law you do not get special treatment. Where are all the stories about generational ISLANDERS who face obstacles every day because their homes and way of life were compromised by the influx of those who came here w/o benefit of the “process”. I know an Irish young woman who came to the Island one summer, met a young man, they fell in love and were married. It took her years and tens of thousands of dollars to become a citizen. She is now a highly productive member of the community. SHE DID IT THE RIGHT WAY. I imagine there will be all sorts of backlash—and that’s OK. I stand by my values.
Joanne,
With all due respect I think that some of those rounded up were also trying to “do it the right way”. And per the Constitution – which presumably reflects our values as a nation – while it’s true that if you break/bend the law you’re not entitled to “special treatment”, you are in fact entitled to – in fact guaranteed – due process.
what obstacles, and how was their way of life compromised.
Can you elaborate….
I noted with interest the quote in the MV Times 2/5/26 article “Amid Deportation Fears … “ that “Meiroka Nunes, a well-known organizer in the Brazilian community . . . said, ‘I believe about 70 percent of the Brazilian community on the Island supports Trump, like me, in many areas.’” I am interested to know if this 70% figure remains now that the administration has (some would say “predictably”) targeted this community with over-broad, factually dubious, unconstitutional, and ethnically selective enforcement of its stated immigration policy.
Recently in NH the State Law Enforcement conducted an aerial recon of drivers who violated the speed limits on Memorial Day weekend and we apprehended accordingly and ticketed.. Over a 120 violators were identified according to the Boston Globe article. One driver was clocked at 140mph. He was arrested and charged with various infractions. I feel a lot safer when I see this type of enforcement of insane driving tactics that harm and kill innocent people like me. Similarly, our government is enforcing the laws in detaining people who are here illegally. It is understandable that each detainee has a backstory of their hardships and why they want to come here and start a better life, just like my GF. However, the operative question here is ” Are we a nation of laws or not ? ” Do we want to ignore some laws and or adhere to others ambivalently. WE as Americans cannot have it both ways. Otherwise the morons who drive 140 mph will kill us. Get it ?
The lengths people will go to for opportunity is amazing, particularly when you consider the cost they were willing to incur upon their own dependents. It is a shame that so much confusion has been sown to allow for such grand misunderstandings as the ones in this article and more. These happen in no other countries, where the rules are clear and enforced at the gates. Imagine you were told there was a goldrush in Canada, and the gates were suddenly wide open: imagine your surprise when the next PM comes in to revert back to the normal law and order of things. What a bait and switch! America’s little experiments with liberal immigration was inevitably brief. It is regretful that illegal immigrants pay the cost for doing what was briefly legal. But it is a more dire indictment on our short-sighted, fickle politics.
“The lengths people will go to for opportunity is amazing, particularly when you consider the cost they were willing to incur upon their own dependents.”
Yes, many no doubt have paid huge amounts of money to traffickers to be brought over the border illegally.
I have heard that there are also traffickers on the Island, for whom illegals are working to pay off their debt.
Three years ago, 49 immigrants were sent to Martha’s Vineyard from San Antonio based on the ignorant belief that the Island was unprepared to cope with immigration, and the equally mistaken belief that we would reject them. How ironic that now our Vineyard community finds ourselves the victims of government action to remove our immigrants, because we are correctly recognized as sanctuary that both welcomes and values a large immigrant population. I know I speak for the majority of Islanders when I say that we stand with our immigrant brothers and sisters.
Not this islander
The vast majority of Islanders.
When did your people first grace the Island?
How long did those 49 individuals stay on your beloved island? You did reject them in short order. How many remain and are productive and established workers? Seems to me you got rid of them quicker than it’s taking me to write this.
Within days the migrants were provided with clean, servicable and private living quarters only 18 miles from where they landed, Mr. Miller. This is after they were shipped 1760 miles from San Antonio. The immigrants were also provided with asssistance to proceed with and appear in their immigration cases. They were not required to stay there. Some of them stayed there for weeks and others for several months. What would you have done differently if they had landed in your community?
I must say I am shocked by many of the comments above- did your grandparents or great grandparents or great -great- grandparents come here from somewhere else ? How does seeking a better life for your family qualify as a crime ? Agreed, there are better ways to become a citizen, but when you are threatened by gang members – fleeing to another country might be the only solution. To answer Mr. Richards question “Are we a nation of laws or not” It seems we are NOT when it comes to Donald Trump but we ARE when it comes to Brazilian Immigrants. I stand with our immigrant neighbors !!
Thank you…. perfect response!
Native Americans land was stolen from the very people responding right here….
Some of these replies sound privileged…. smh
❤️ I agree.
While being undocumented isn’t legal, there is an elephant in the room here. For decades, congress and several presidents have neglected to institute a rational immigration policy that is both humane and positive for our country, and we now live in what amounts to a police state. For some this may be an answer, but many of us see it as a travesty of justice. Politics have dominated immigration policy in America, or should I say the lack of it. As a result, here we stand. Good people are being punished for our own incompetence on the road to a crumbling democracy. A Jewish friend, whose family was a victim of the holocaust wrote: there is anger and great sadness to see what is happening to our country. “Being a member of my family and knowing their past– it is extremely upsetting to see actions going on that are so close to the experience they lived.”
Thank you Sandra for your words and life lived for social justice.
Sandra. We live in a flawed democracy, not a police state. ICE arrests and Holocaust atrocities are not the same. No person who actually lived through the Holocaust would ever claim these experiences we are reading are in any way similar to the intended and accomplices genocide of Jews.
The undocumented immigrants detained by ICE are not under threat of genocide. They were not transported in freezing, crowded cattle cars with no food or water for days, killing many. In detention, immigrants do not witness the murders of their children or parents. They are not starved, tortured, shot, or marched into gas chambers and forced to dig pits for their own mass graves. True, they are not housed at the Ritz, but they have food, medical care if they need it, court dates, and as this article reports, have access to speaking with family and lawyers and even a newspaper reporter. Claims of denying due process are false, acccording to the newspaper reports.
Claiming Holocaust atrocities where there are none devalues and minimizes one people’s suffering to exaggerate another group’s. That is immoral and antisemitic, no matter the religion of the person making these false, damaging and dangerous claims.
we “live in a nation of laws” – we have convicted felon running the country breaking laws every day.
I’m pretty sure previous generations came to this country legally through Ellis Island next to the Statue of Liberty.
I’m also pretty sure this shouldn’t be confused with the Holocaust where millions of Jews were rounded up and brought to death camps, not deported from a country they are in illegally.
Americans support legal immigration and due process – which is the law.
What most Americans don’t support is 10.8 million migrants flooding our borders with 2 million “getaways” (2001-2005) in the country not vetted for health mental or criminal status. Costing $150B a year.
Meanwhile our healthcare system is broken, our VAs are underfunded, cuts to Education NPR NOAA, underpaid teachers, police, and fire departments and a deteriorating infrastructure- but let’s look the other way when it comes to the law- the same way we are looking away at antisemitism, boys in girls bathrooms playing girls sports, and the deterioration of family values.
Agree to disagree.
I’d think back a little bit further than Ellis Island. Ask your Wampanoag neighbors for more information.
If we are a country of laws, how is it that de santis and trump have not been charged for all their crimes, yes CRIMES! I guess our country needs to get its values in order and decide what is considered a crime that needs to be prosecuted and what doesn’t!
Almost all of these sanctimonious accusations about “illegal aliens” and suspect “asylum seekers” are really unfair. It can take years to get a green card or worker’s documentation.Don’t assume the immigrants, temporarily in limbo, are automatically criminals or illegals. Instead, show us records of the “criminal activities” of the undocumented people you have arbitrarily imprisoned. ICE owes us its paperwork and some semblance of decency and transparency as they corral our residents.
Illegal means illegal so send them back and come back legally it’s costing billions of dollars your dollars and mine it all needs to get better put our people in the work service.
When my grandparents emigrated to the U.S., from Ireland and Italy, there was robust and well staffed points of entry, with enough people to process incoming immigrants , not so anymore, so following proper channels is much different now. I would be happy if more of my tax dollars were spent facilitating legal immigration , for people of all races and beliefs,instead of deporting hard working people that are denied the safe passage to citizenship .
“Are we a nation of laws or not?”
The republicans are trying at this moment to pass legislation so that politicians cannot be held responsible for being in contempt of court.
The republicans of this nation voted for a convicted felon.
So, I ask you back, are we a nation of laws or not?
We are all hypocrites.
All these statements. emphatically claimed as fact. Could we sort the wheat from the chaff? We are playing into the hands of ICE and proponents. How is it that “illegal immigrants” (not the phrase I would use) are denied due process, otherwise guaranteed by our Constitution? And shouldn’t there be yet another amendment stating that no convicted felon (who used the presidential election to escape from jail) should be eligible to be president?
Oh, before you ask, no immigrant is an “illegal.” It’s like calling babies from unmarried women “illegitimate.” Children are not illegitimate. Immigrants are not illegals. For all of us lucky enough to have been born here, stop and thank your stars. Why are we so angry at people whose biggest flaw seems to have been not having been born here?
Are we great yet?
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