the frenzy of summer a distant memory.

This picturesque island off the coast of Cape Cod is an unlikely landmark in America's immigration battle.

But this past September, the Vineyard was the frontline.

48 Venezuelan migrants.

The youngest only three years old, flown to Martha's Vineyard Wednesday, will spend another night at a local church.

On an ordinary Wednesday in September, wedding season on island, 49 Venezuelan migrants suddenly turned up on Martha's Vineyard, like gate crashing guests.

They were brought here on two private planes and when they got to the Vineyard, there was transportation and a camera crew waiting for them.

They basically brought them over here to the high school and dropped them off.

Lured with promises of help finding jobs, housing, and other assistance, homemade brochures to back up the lies.

- This is not even a flag of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

- [David] The two flights chartered from Texas by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis using funds intended for COVID relief to pay for them.

- We are not a sanctuary state and it's better to be able to go to a sanctuary jurisdiction.

And yes, we will help facilitate that transport for you to be able to go to greener pastures.

- They were all exhausted and incredibly confused.

- [David] Lisa Belcastro was one of the first responders on scene.

She runs the island's homeless shelter.

- They didn't even know they were coming to Martha's Vineyard in the first place.

And you know, they wanted to know where were their jobs and where were their houses, because that's what they were told.

And you know, we're looking at them going, there are no jobs and there are no houses.

We used every space available.

- [David] They set up camp in St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Edgartown, and they set to work.

- We couldn't change obviously their journey to get to the border.

We couldn't change what DeSantis and his people did so cruelly to them.

But we could start from square one on the Vineyard.

- [David] Attorney Rachel Self has an immigration law practice in Boston, but lives year round on the Vineyard.

- I got to the church and immediately started to look over the documentation.

They had been processed by the Department of Homeland Security.

They had their paperwork and they were supposed to report in to various offices throughout the country in very short order.

- [David] She and others helped make sure the Venezuelans didn't miss any crucial immigration appointments because they were stranded on Martha's Vineyard.

- To have someone play with you like a pawn on a chessboard, completely disposable.

I can't imagine that.

- [David] If DeSantis' goal was to test the virtue signaling of America's liberal elite- - And all those people in DC and New York were beating their chest when Trump was president saying they were so proud to be sanctuary jurisdictions, saying how bad it was to have a secure border.

The minute even a small fraction of what those border towns deal with every day is brought to their front door, they all of a sudden go berserk.

- [David] Martha's Vineyard stepped up in a big way.

- We started a GoFundMe through community services.

- $280,000 came in virtually overnight.

- Within, I don't know, 36-40 hours.

- Wow.

- Yeah.

Yep.

People wanted to help.

- [David] But judging from some of the hate messages everyone who helped them received... - [Caller] I hope they impregnate your daughters, and y'all get a bunch of little (beep) grandbabies.

- [David] There are plenty of Americans who applaud Governor DeSantis.

- [Caller] I hope they flood your community.

I hope they flood and bring drugs and crime to your community.

- [David] This whole episode teed up what's bound to be a central issue in the 2024 presidential campaign, the Venezuelans among thousands of others caught in America's broken immigration system.

This experience did bring that problem home to the Vineyard in a stark new way.

- The whole concept of fleeing a country was foreign to me.

Like we hear about it in the news and you see the wars on TV and poverty and everything else, but to have someone sit across from you and tell you that they intentionally walked thousands of miles through some truly harsh conditions and that they did all of this because where they were living seemed hopeless or dangerous.

- [David] Truth be told, the Vineyard has a sizable immigrant population, many of them Brazilian.

Adeel Jr. Barbosa works at the Oak Bluffs Public Library.

He's a new citizen having been sponsored by his wife who was born here.

He told us the Brazilian community was intrigued by all the support the Islanders gave the Venezuelans.

- Of course, everybody's pretty happy that they had somebody to look for them.

That's awesome.

But we have been here for a long time and we don't have the same kind of help.

- So it's not that you begrudge them the help, but that you'd like to see that help yourselves.

- Yes, we didn't have the same help that these people did, but obviously we are all so glad that they have some help and somebody looked for them.

We expected people look to us now too the same way.

- [David] Of the 49 Venezuelans who were brought here to Martha's Vineyard, only half a dozen or so are still on the island.

The rest have scattered to other towns on the mainland.

They all now face a tough road seeking asylum and there are no guarantees.

Jose, not his real name, lives for now in a small town in southern Massachusetts, we've agreed not to say where.

A comfortable spot, food and shelter well met, heat and hot water included.

What would you like to be doing?

(Jose speaks in foreign language) He wants to work, he says, but under US law, he can't even apply for a work permit for six months.

- The biggest question I get asked by all 49 of them, because they all have my cell phone and we stay in very close contact is when can I work?

I really just wanna get to work.

And the problem is that in order to lawfully work in this country, you need to have an employment authorization document issued by the Department of Homeland Security.

- So this is a federal document that gives them authorization to work and they just have to wait for it.

- Yes.

And in the interim, what happens is a lot of people go underground.

- Realistically, she says that probably means a two-year wait getting a work permit, probably 10 years to get a judge to rule on his asylum claim.

And in that 10 years, are they in danger of being deported?

- Not in Massachusetts.

- [David] Jose told us that staying in Venezuela wasn't safe.

He says his family supported the Venezuela opposition and that after the opposition lost the most recent election, thugs started paying his family regular visits.

(Jose speaking in foreign language) - When he was working for his aunt's business, he was assaulted and stabbed one morning.

(Jose speaking in foreign language) - [Interpreter] On December 15th.

(Jose speaking in foreign language) - [Interpreter] Last year.

- They stabbed you.

(Jose speaking in foreign language) - He was called by his name and when he looked up he was stabbed.

- [David] Eventually he says he fled for his life to Peru, but he says Peru wasn't safe either.

So just as soon as he was well enough to travel, he set off on foot for the US border.

(Jose speaking in foreign language) - [Interpreter] Two months and 15 days walking.

- [David] His only treasured possessions, the stuffed animals his son and daughter gave him.

The Venezuelans have filed a class action lawsuit against Governor DeSantis.

- No federal investigation has been launched yet with regard to the fact that they were kidnapped.

I believe they were- - Kidnapped is a very strong word.

- It is, but there is kidnapping by inveiglement, which basically means you lie to somebody to get them.

So picture, if you will, the CBS Afternoon Special of the dangerous man with the ice cream cone or the puppy in the van.

- This was the immigration equivalent of the puppy in the van.

- I believe it was the immigration equivalent of the puppy in the van, yes.

- [David] With help from the San Antonio sheriff, all 49 have been certified as victims of crime unlawful restraint.

- That's a qualifying crime for something called a U visa.

So when you apply for a U visa, the government will certify that you were the victim of a crime.

And the reason this visa exists is so that victims of crime aren't afraid to come forward and assist law enforcement in their investigation of criminal activity.

- And she says ultimately the Florida governor may have done the opposite of what he was hoping to achieve.

So the fact that these 49 people have been certified as victims of a crime puts them in a different category in terms of their immigration.

- It does.

The irony of the actions of the operators in Florida is that they actually provided them a path to green card by victimizing them.

- It's been six months