DeSantis Office: Class Action Lawsuit from Three Migrants ‘Political Theater’
TALLAHASSEE (FLV) – The DeSantis Administration called the class action lawsuit on behalf of some migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard “political theater.”
The advocacy group, Alianza Americas, filed a lawsuit claiming Florida’s program is a “fraudulent and discriminatory scheme” to transport “vulnerable” immigrants. Florida officials on the ground in Texas offered migrants flights to Florida and then ultimately Martha’s Vineyard.
Senior officials from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Office reiterated that the transportation was done on a “voluntary basis.”
“The immigrants were homeless, hungry, and abandoned – and these activists didn’t care about them then. Florida’s program gave them a fresh start in a sanctuary state and these individuals opted to take advantage of chartered flights to Massachusetts. It was disappointing that Martha’s Vineyard called in the Massachusetts National Guard to bus them away from the island within 48 hours,” officials from the governor’s office said Tuesday.
The migrants signed releases and were given a brochure with a map of the final destination. Officials from the governor’s office say some of the migrants were provided lodging, showers, and even meals prior to boarding.
The Florida legislature approved $12 million to implement a program that transports illegal immigrants from the state. DeSantis Administration officials say they are sending the migrants to “sanctuary jurisdictions” since Florida is not a “sanctuary state.”
“It is opportunistic that activists would use illegal immigrants for political theater,” senior officials from the governor’s office said.
“If these activists spent even a fraction of this time and effort at the border, perhaps some accountability would be brought to the Biden Administration’s reckless border policies that entice illegal immigrants to make dangerous and often lethal journeys through Central America and put their lives in the hands of cartels and Coyotes.”
The Lawyers for Civil Rights, Boston said they joined in on the lawsuit on the behalf of “a class of affected immigrants, including the immigrants stranded in Martha’s Vineyard,” and Alianza Americas. The lawsuit contains three of the migrants – Yanet, Pablo, and Jesus.
3 of 50 Migrants File Lawsuit Against DeSantis Claiming ‘Items Such as $10 McDonalds Gift Certificates’ Deceived Them
They say the migrants fled Venezuela, which has a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory by the U.S. Department of Health. The lawsuit claims the administration “exploited” their situation.
“To gain the Plaintiffs’ trust, and to induce unwitting cooperation with Defendants’ scheme, the Doe Defendants provided items such as $10 McDonalds gift certificates to class members suffering from chronic food insecurity,” part of the lawsuit said.
DeSantis said the two flights are “just the beginning,” announcing he would use all of the allotted money to continue transporting them to sanctuary cities. The flights are in response to Biden’s handling of the U.S. southern border where tens of thousands of migrants are crossing every month.
“What’s not humane is he’s given a false promise the borders are open, luring people to come here for political purposes and then basically cutting these people loose and leave them high and dry,” DeSantis said.
Eric Daugherty contributed to this report.
