Class Action: Migrants Say Florida Governor DeSantis "Stranded" Them On Martha's Vineyard

 

A new lawsuit challenges the Florida Governor's transportation of migrants to Massachusetts.  Alyssa Aquino for Law360 reports that asylum-seekers who allege they were tricked into boarding flights to Martha's Vineyard have sued Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, alleging that he violated their constitutional protections against unreasonable seizures by leaving them "stranded" on the Massachusetts island under false promises.

The asylum-seekers said that persons working at the Governor DeSantis's direction assured them they would receive jobs, housing and immigration assistance if they boarded flights purportedly headed for Boston and Washington, D.C. They claim that the defendants abandoned them on Martha's Vineyard in violation of their Fourth Amendment protections and 14th Amendment due process rights.

"Destitute, stranded, and immensely vulnerable, the individual plaintiffs ... were faced with an uncertain situation in an unfamiliar location. They were left in the dark, with nothing, on a tarmac on an island," according to the complaint, which was filed in federal court a Massachusetts.

The asylum-seekers also accused the Florida officials of fraud, false imprisonment, and infliction of emotional distress.

The plaintiffs seek to represent a proposed class of dozens of migrants -- most originally from Venezuela -- who were flown to Martha's Vineyard on September 14. Joining them in the suit is Alianza Americas, a network of organizations supporting migrants across the country.

The lawsuit comes after the sheriff of Bexar County, Texas, which includes San Antonio, opened an investigation into whether DeSantis violated federal or state criminal statutes.

The migrants are represented by Oren Sellstrom, Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, Jacob Love and Mirian Albert of Lawyers for Civil Rights.

The case is Alianza Americas et al. v. DeSantis et al., case number 1:22-cv-11550, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.  Here is the Complaint.

Responding to the controversy over the transfer of migrants to his state, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker urged  Congress to  overhaul a "very screwed up" system.  "It's not a secret to anyone that our immigration system is broken and it's not a secret that the border is also broken because our immigration system is broken and states can't fix it," Baker said .

KJ