Ron DeSantis in Legal Trouble: Martha's Vineyard Migrants File Class-Action Lawsuit While Bexar County Sheriff Investigating Governor's Actions in Flying Migrants to Massachusetts
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis may have scored some brownie points from his White conservative base, but it looks like he is getting in much legal trouble for flying some Venezuelan migrants to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
First, the Bexar County Sheriff's Office is investigating his actions as the migrants were "lured" to travel to Martha's Vineyard "under false pretenses." The second one comes in the form of a class-action lawsuit from the migrants themselves.
While the class-action lawsuit is a Civil Rights case, the Bexar County investigation is considered a criminal investigation into DeSantis's actions, according to Eyewitness News.
Bexar County Sheriff Blasts Ron DeSantis, Says Florida Governor Abused Human Rights
Ron DeSantis and fellow Republican Governor Greg Abbott of Texas have been accused of exploiting vulnerable migrants for their political stunts. With DeSantis's latest action of sending 48 mostly-Venezuelan migrants to Massachusetts and leaving them to fend for themselves, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar launched a criminal investigation into the matter.
According to a statement from Sheriff Salazar, the migrants were "lured from the Migrant Resource Center, located in Bexar County, TX, and flown to Florida, where they were ultimately left to fend for themselves in Martha's Vineyard, MA."
The Sheriff also stated that it was too early into the criminal investigation to know which laws were broken and name actual suspects. He said he is currently talking to an attorney representing the migrants while trying to figure out which charges should be made and against whom.
However, according to The Guardian, while Salazar did not mention any names, he did say, "Everybody on this call knows who those names are already."
The Sheriff stated he wanted to know what was promised to them, if they signed something, or if this was a predatory measure. He also blasted DeSantis's actions by calling it an abuse of human rights."
DeSantis's communications director, Taryn Fenske, released a statement claiming the migrants were more than willing to leave Bexar County and that the state allowed them to "seek greener pastures" in a sanctuary destination.
Ron DeSantis Also Facing Class-Action Lawsuit From the Migrants He Transported
The firm Lawyers for Civil Rights filed a class-action lawsuit against DeSantis. They filed it in conjunction with the migrant-led nonprofit Alianza Americas, which co-filed the suit on behalf of the Martha's Vineyard migrants.
The lawyers sent an email to NPR and revealed that they named not only DeSantis as a defendant, but also Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue, as well as other accomplices.
Alianza Americas' Executive Director Oscar Chacon stated that the Florida governor was using the migrants to "advance a hate-filled agenda." He explained that they have now taken the steps to legally challenge what is viewed as a morally reprehensible action that is also believed to be illegal.
The migrants are suing the governor for a minimum that exceeds $75,000 in damages. They are also seeking the court to block DeSantis and others named in the lawsuit from luring more migrants to travel across state lines by using fraudulent means and misrepresentation.
The migrants claimed to have suffered harms and that DeSantis's actions violated their 4th and 14th amendment rights.
The investigation and lawsuit both come as DeSantis threatened to send in more planes full of migrants, even using their $12 million budget to its full extent.
Concerns arose in Delaware that the governor might have sent another plane to President Joe Biden's vacation home in the state. However, as we reported earlier, that plane never came. The flight was tracked traveling from Texas to Florida. However, it did not land in Delaware but in Tennessee. No migrants were found aboard.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
WATCH: Migrants Flown To Martha's Vineyard File Class Action Lawsuit Against DeSantis