HomeFlorida NewsJudge rules: Migrants given right to sue Florida Gov. DeSantis, other top...

Judge rules: Migrants given right to sue Florida Gov. DeSantis, other top state officials

Share

Tallahassee, Florida – Focusing on the transportation of almost 50 illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard, a federal judge has decided that a case against Governor Ron DeSantis and many top officials in his government can proceed. The legal action, which was initially dismissed in April, has been granted a new lease on life following a motion to refile by the migrants’ attorneys and supporting groups.

Represented by Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston and Alianza Americas, the migrants assert they were misled into leaving Texas for Massachusetts under false work and housing pretenses. They claim that the DeSantis government planned this action as a PR stunt meant to highlight President Joe Biden’s immigration policy. The lawsuit presents a picture of a well thought out operation, involving several of DeSantis’s assistants in its execution.

Appointed by former President Barack Obama, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs granted the order enabling the refiling just one day after DeSantis’s legal team said they would not contest the amended complaint. They kept their right to contest the lawsuit’s continuation in Florida courts, though. The agreement reached by both sides also lays out a schedule for forthcoming court hearings.

Although the spokesman for the DeSantis government refrained from commenting specifically, he said that future responses would be made through court filings. Vocal about his administration’s migrant transport policy, Governor DeSantis has defended it as a required action to highlight what he believes to be Biden administration shortcomings in federal immigration enforcement.

Read also: Average rent for a single-family home in Miami reaches $3,537.70 per month, homeownership remains just a dream for many

DeSantis reiterated his criticism during a recent speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, accusing the Biden government of supporting open borders and burdening local populations by not controlling the migrant flood.

The updated lawsuit contains fresh data implying that the planning and execution of the flights was greatly aided by high-ranking DeSantis office personnel. In particular, it notes phone records between Florida’s public safety czar, Lawrence Keefe, and James Uthmeier, chief of staff, addressing logistics just before the migrants were flown out.

Furthermore, correspondence between Perla Huerta, the claimed recruiter for the operation, and the migrants imply that the latter were not aware of the actual circumstances they would find at Martha’s Vineyard. This correspondence is now part of the lawsuit, supporting the allegation of deliberate misleading of the immigrants.

The case against Vertol paid $1.5 million for the flights, proceeds independently, with the court earlier determining sufficient evidence suggesting the migrants were targeted based on their Hispanic race.

A federal judge has decided that a case against Governor Ron DeSantis and many top officials in his government can proceed
Credit: Freepik

Read also: Miami is the first city to receive consecutive Choice Neighborhoods Implementation grants, grant worth $39 million

The effects of the legal action could go much beyond the lives of the directly involved parties as the court fight develops, therefore influencing public opinion on immigration policy in the United States and future state-led migrant relocation plans.

Read more