Staff Reports
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stirred up controversy last year when he flew illegal migrants to the wealthy and Democratic enclave of Martha’s Vineyard. This move resulted in a lawsuit filed by Democratic state Senator Jason Pizzo, who argued that funds were improperly spent. However, the judge recently dismissed the case.
DeSantis went after the Biden administration's immigration policies just hours after a Leon County judge dismissed a lawsuit against his administration for flying 50 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. https://t.co/NZYefL0NGU
— The Palm Beach Post (@pbpost) February 24, 2023
The plaintiff claimed that the governor had used state funds to charter two planes for the migrants. The attorneys for the DeSantis administration argued that the issue was moot due to a bill passed last month that allows for efforts to transport illegal migrants to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions. Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper agreed with this reasoning and moved to formally dismiss the suit.
This is not the only legal challenge that DeSantis has faced over his migrant policy. The left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center’s Justice Project filed a suit in federal court. They alleged that individuals acting at the direction of the defendants fraudulently induced approximately 50 Venezuelan and Peruvian migrants into taking a flight from Texas to Massachusetts, falsely promising them aid, jobs, and more. Paul R. Chavez, senior supervising attorney for the SPLC’s Immigrant Justice Project, condemned the governor’s actions in a statement. He said that the relocation program constituted a discriminatory attack on immigrant communities and that DeSantis’ unconstitutional actions must be stopped.
The decision to fly illegal migrants to Martha’s Vineyard has been met with much criticism from both sides of the aisle. The lawsuit filed by Senator Jason Pizzo was an attempt to hold DeSantis accountable for his actions, but the judge ultimately dismissed the case. The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Justice Project has also filed a suit in federal court, claiming that individuals acted fraudulently in order to get the migrants to Massachusetts.
The controversy surrounding Governor Ron DeSantis’ decision to fly illegal migrants to Martha’s Vineyard is far from over. The lawsuit filed by Senator Jason Pizzo has been dismissed, but the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Justice Project is still pursuing their case in federal court. It remains to be seen how this situation will play out, but it is clear that many are unhappy with DeSantis’ decision and are determined to hold him accountable for it.
The preceding article is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Conservative Institute
