DeSantis pushes for dismissal of lawsuit brought by migrants sent to Martha’s Vineyard

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Tuesday moved to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a group of Venezuelan migrants that the state flew to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., in September.

The group filed a myriad of claims against DeSantis, other state officials and the aviation company that facilitated the flights, including purported violations of civil rights.

DeSantis and the other defendants on Tuesday urged a federal judge in Massachusetts overseeing the case to dismiss the lawsuit, or in the alternative, transfer the case to a federal court in Florida.

“Before even getting to whether Plaintiffs’ allegations state a plausible claim for relief, this extraordinary suit faces insurmountable defects concerning jurisdiction, standing, venue, and multiple immunity doctrines. The Amended Complaint should be dismissed in its entirety for multiple, independent reasons,” attorneys for DeSantis and the other state defendants wrote in a court filing.

DeSantis is one of multiple governors to relocate migrants to northern areas of the country in protest of President Biden’s immigration policies, arguing it is a necessary move to provide relief to overwhelmed communities closer to the southern border.

His office’s decision to fly the group of migrants last fall from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, an island known for its popularity among the wealthy, in particular received criticism from Democrats, many of whom viewed the relocations as cruel and inhumane.

The suit alleges that the migrants boarded the two planes, which were facilitated by Vertol Systems Company, under false pretenses, and it accuses various defendants of false imprisonment and anti-discrimination laws, among other claims.

DeSantis and the other state defendants argued that the lawsuit fails to state a claim that can be brought in either federal or state court, so the suit should be dismissed. They further contended that the suit was brought in an improper venue, as Massachusetts’s federal court in this instance does not have jurisdiction over the state and its officials.

“The number and variety of claims should not distract from the fact that Plaintiffs assert two basic theories of misconduct, neither of which can survive a motion to dismiss,” attorneys for the state wrote.

The migrants, who are backed by Alianza Americas and Boston-based nonprofit Lawyers for Civil Rights, asked the judge to declare DeSantis’s relocations illegal under the Constitution as well as federal and state laws. The suit further demands the judge prevent Florida from inducing immigrants to travel across state laws by fraud and misrepresentation.

“The bottom line is that Governor DeSantis doesn’t want to be hauled into a Massachusetts court, but he surely hauled distressed migrants to Martha’s Vineyard without compunction,” said Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, executive director of Lawyers for Civil Rights. “Governor DeSantis essentially pretends that Perla Huerta, a former spy, was running around plotting on her own. But she was not alone. It is not surprising that Governor DeSantis and his co-defendants are throwing up every procedural argument they can think of, in a desperate attempt to avoid facing the music for this callous political stunt.”

Updated at 11:43 a.m.

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