Martha’s Vineyard – an island off the southern coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts is known for its scenic beauty, pristine beaches, and for being home to the Wampanoag tribe for over 10,000 years. The island houses immigrants mainly from South America, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe, each of whom has a story to tell about how they arrived at this juncture of their lives.“Highlighting Immigrant Voices” is a video series that delves into the lives of seven immigrants and documents their journey to Martha’s Vineyard and explores their experiences on the island.

Martha’s Vineyard has evolved from being a predominantly fishing and agriculture-heavy settlement, to an island of luxury, serving as an investment portfolio for “the rich”. Martha’s Vineyard is often associated with wealth and affluence because of its growing popularity as a vacation spot and its rising real estate values. The island hosts vacation homes of celebrities like Michael J. Fox, Spike Lee, Diane Sawyer, David Letterman and Barack Obama. In recent years it has also garnered investments from private institutions for huge infrastructure projects. For instance,Vineyard Wind 1 by Offshore Wind is currently building its renewable wind energy project, 15 miles South of Martha’s Vineyard to generate clean and affordable energy across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

This business and infrastructure boom in the last three-to-four decades has attracted immigrants mainly from South America, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe to the island for work. This means that more people working in the service industry have started moving to the Martha’s Vineyard. This in turn has created challenges like housing, food, sustainable pay and representation for the island and its immigrants.

I spoke with seven immigrants who now call Martha’s Vineyard home. Their stories start from who they are and where they come from. 

Moving from one country to another changes the definition of “home” for an immigrant, which is not an easy transition to make. Thousands of immigrants go through this experience  every year, as they move to Martha’s Vineyard. From racism to language, the process of settling in was not always smooth for these immigrants. 

Housing is something that every person who moves to the island struggles with due to the exorbitant rent and purchase rates. The islanders spoke to me about their experience of finding housing on the island and the future of immigration to the island, keeping in mind  the ever increasing housing prices. 

Entrepreneur Elio Silva speaks about starting his businesses on the island as an immigrant and making it big with 15 businesses on the island.