Ron DeSantis scores huge legal win as he is dismissed from lawsuit over migrant flights to Martha’s Vineyards – but asylum seekers can still sue charter flight company
- Although DeSantis was not found responsible, the migrants can still sue the charter flight company that transported them to the island.
- DeSantis arranged for 50 migrants to be flown to the wealthy island off the coast of Massachusetts, sparking a firestorm
- The US District Court of Massachusetts said in its ruling that it has no jurisdiction over DeSantis in this case
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis scored a legal victory when the conservative firebrand was dismissed from a lawsuit by migrants he flew to Martha’s Vineyard to seek compensation.
The class action lawsuit, filed in the District of Massachusetts, alleged that the governor “designed and executed a premeditated, fraudulent and illegal scheme aimed at exploiting (the migrants) for the sole purpose of furthering their own personal, financial and political interests.’
The US District Court of Massachusetts said in its ruling that it has no jurisdiction over DeSantis in this case
While DeSantis was dropped, the migrants can still sue the charter flight company that transported them to the island off the coast of Massachusetts, according to a ruling Monday by a federal judge in Boston.
It came after DeSantis arranged for 50 migrants to be flown to the wealthy island off the coast of Massachusetts, a move that set off a firestorm in the political war over immigration.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis scored a legal victory when the conservative firebrand was dismissed from a migrant lawsuit. He flew to Martha’s Vineyard to sue for damages
Although DeSantis was not found responsible, the migrants can still sue the charter flight company that transported them to the island off the coast of Massachusetts, according to a ruling Monday by a federal judge in Boston.
The 50 Venezuelans were sent from San Antonio, Texas, to Martha’s Vineyard and were promised work and housing options.
Under Monday pronunciationthe migrants can proceed with their lawsuit against Florida-based Vertol Systems Co., which had agreed to fly them to the island for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
An email to the company seeking comment after the ruling was published in the afternoon was not immediately returned.
The court found that the facts of the case “taken together support the inference that Vertol and the other defendants specifically targeted plaintiffs because they were Latinx immigrants.”
The DeSantis administration noted that the judge’s order dismissed the state defendants.
“As we have always stated, the flights were lawfully conducted and authorized by the Florida Legislature,” Julia Friedland, DeSantis’ deputy press secretary, said in a statement.
“We look forward to the next flight of illegal immigrants into Florida, and we are pleased to draw national attention to the crisis at the southern border.”
The court also said: ‘Unlike ICE agents who legitimately enforce the nation’s immigration laws… the court sees no legitimate purpose in rounding up highly vulnerable individuals under false pretenses and publicly injecting them into a divisive national debate.’
It came after DeSantis arranged for 50 migrants to be flown to the wealthy island off the coast of Massachusetts, a move that set off a firestorm in the political war over immigration.
The 50 Venezuelans were sent from San Antonio, Texas to Martha’s Vineyard and were promised work and housing opportunities
Venezuelan migrants stand outside St. Andrew’s Church in Edgartown, Massachusetts, in September 2022
Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, executive director of Lawyers for Civil Rights, called the 77-page ruling a major victory in the Martha’s Vineyard case.
He said in a statement that the ruling sends the message that private companies can be held responsible for helping rogue state actors violate the rights of vulnerable immigrants through what it described as illegal and fraudulent schemes.
The migrants are seeking compensation, emotional distress and punitive damages, coverage of their attorneys’ fees and restraining DeSantis from “enticing immigrants to travel across state lines through fraud and misrepresentation.”
Massachusetts called in the National Guard to process the several dozen migrants and the migrants were taken to a military base in Cape Cod after Governor Charlie Baker said the billionaire’s enclave was “not equipped to provide permanent housing” for the migrants .
DeSantis tore a page out of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s playbook with the political move. Abbott had bused thousands of migrants to liberal sanctuary cities like Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago.