Critics blast DeSantis for flying Texas migrants to Martha’s Vineyard

TALLAHASSEE — Flying more than 50 refugees from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard is the latest political stunt by Gov. Ron DeSantis using federal tax dollars to build national support for a potential presidential run in 2024, critics said Thursday.

And it may have been illegal.

“I think this is outrageous. We are better than this as a state and as a nation,” said Elizabeth Ricci, an immigration lawyer in Tallahassee. “Under the principles of federalism, the state doesn’t have the authority to enforce any federal laws … and the governor knows this.”

DeSantis’ office confirmed that the state chartered two planes Wednesday to take about 50 Venezuelan and Colombian undocumented migrants that included children from San Antonio, Texas, to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, with brief stops in Florida and South Carolina. No other details were released.

At a news conference in Niceville, DeSantis said it was better to send the migrants to jurisdictions with sanctuary cities. “We will help facilitate that transportation for you to go to greener pastures,” he said.

Daniel A. Smith, political science chair at the University of Florida wondered how far “one can fall in terms of virtue signaling to the MAGA” base. “These depths are unplumbed, and we don’t really have a precedent for this type of action in political science,” he said.

Smith said DeSantis is pandering to the extreme wing of the GOP in the lead-up to the general election on Nov. 8, where Democrat U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist is challenging his bid for re-election.

“He’s not thinking of 2022. He’s more focused on the primary season for 2024,” Smith said. “This is not about migrants in Florida, clearly.”

Smith cautioned the move could backfire if Donald Trump thinks his primary constituency is being poached by DeSantis and decides to publicly turn on him.

“I think he’s overplaying his hand,” Smith said. “Will he be hoisted on his own petard?”

Crist said he is doing this to “rile up his base and use people as punching bags while he tries to run for president and distracts from the issue of this election – being pro-choice.”

The move is an escalation in the tactics by Republican governors to draw attention to what they contend is the Biden administration’s failed border policies at a time when polls show the GOP is in trouble. Immigration is an issue that historically plays well with their base, but there is no migrant caravan coming from Mexico to stir up the fears of the base like there was in 2018.

A busload of about 100 immigrants arrived outside Vice President Kamala Harris’ house on Thursday, and governors of Arizona and Texas have sent busloads of migrants to Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago.

“States like Massachusetts, New York and California will better facilitate the care of these individuals who they have invited into our country by incentivizing illegal immigration through their designation as ‘sanctuary states,” Taryn Fenske, the governor’s director of press relations, said in a prepared statement.

She did not respond to requests for more information about the flights but said the money came from a $12 million program approved by the Legislature this year to hire contractors to move undocumented migrants from Florida to other states.

The money comes from the interest earned on $8.8 billion the state received from the federal government for statewide coronavirus recovery efforts, according to the state budget.

The Orlando Sentinel filed a public records request to provide details of the chartered flights, including the company, the cost, and the staff on board who helped the migrants board the planes.

Three weeks ago, DeSantis said the program was on hold because until federal authorities begin sending undocumented workers picked up at the Texas-Mexican border to Florida.

“We have not had buses coming in,” DeSantis said. “We’ve had people trickle in, and we’ve had law enforcement focus on.”

NPR reported that the planes originated in San Antonio, and made stops in Florida and South Carolina before flying on to the exclusive island off Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Migrants interviewed by NPR said they were lured out of a shelter by a woman named “Perla” who said they were flying them to Boston to have their work papers expedited.

Ricci, the immigration lawyer, also said the state could be accused of trafficking. Under a recent rule issued by DeSantis, no company can transport undocumented migrants into Florida, presumably even for a short layover, she said.

If the migrants were lured onto planes under false pretenses, they could apply for visas under the basis they were victims of crimes. They could have a “good faith argument” they were induced to board the plane to seek jobs, which would be a violation of the Fraud in Labor Contracting law.

They could also possibly claim they were trafficked, Ricci said. Under federal immigration laws, “traffickers may lure lure individuals with false promises of employment and a better life,” which is exactly what DeSantis has done, Ricci said.

Many people who cross the border illegally from Mexico are temporarily shielded from deportation after being freed by U.S. authorities to pursue asylum in immigration court, which is allowed under U.S. law and international treaty.

The move is likely to win praise from DeSantis’ supporters who deride Democrat-led, immigrant-friendly “sanctuary” cities and anger critics who say he is weaponizing migrants as pawns for political gain.

In a statement, Manny Diaz, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, blasted DeSantis.

“Ron DeSantis is playing games with the lives of people who came here in search of freedom and opportunity in order to boost his campaign fundraising and Fox News ratings,” he said. “He is saying that his political career is more important than our lives. That’s the type of politician he is, and that’s why we need to stand together and vote him out of office in November.”

One of the migrants, who asked to be identified only as Leonel, told the New York Times that the people of Martha’s Vineyard were generous and that he “had never seen anything like it.” They gave him a pair of shoes.

“I haven’t slept well in three months,” said Leonel, who does not have any relatives or friends in the United States. “It’s been three months since I put on a new pair of pants. Or shoes.”

Leonel, 45, said he had left Venezuela about three months ago.

On the one hand, it’s outrageous that taxpayer dollars would be used for such a blatant political stunt, Tallahassee lawyer Hal Lewis tweeted.

But on the other hand, Lewis said, “I guess the migrants are better off in sanctuary cities than in being shipped back to wherever.”

The Associated Press and New York Times contributed to this report.