Lawsuit against DeSantis over migrant flights to Martha’s Vineyard is back on

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Undocumented migrants transported to Martha’s Vineyard from the southern border may revive a lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis and other top and former officials in his administration, a federal judge ruled on Friday.

Earlier this month, a lawyer for the migrants and a group helping them asked for permission to refile the legal challenge against the Republican governor, alleging that nearly 50 migrants were misled as part of a publicity stunt pushed by the DeSantis administration. That case against DeSantis had initially been dismissed back in April.

U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs issued an order granting the motion. Her decision comes a day after lawyers for the governor — as well as DeSantis chief of staff James Uthmeier — told the court that they would not object to a revamped lawsuit. But the stipulation drawn up by both sides says attorneys for DeSantis can file new motions to dismiss the case as well as file a new motion to transfer the case to Florida. That agreement also lays out a timeline for the next steps in the case.

A spokesperson for DeSantis said Friday comments about the case would be contained in future legal filings.

DeSantis, who has sharply criticized the immigration policy of President Joe Biden, pushed to get money from the Legislature to transport migrants, and records showed that several top aides were deeply involved in the planning. Florida arranged to fly migrants from Texas to Massachusetts in September 2022, creating a political firestorm as the White House and Democrats blasted the governor’s actions.

DeSantis, who said he signed off on the transport to draw attention to Biden’s policies, repeatedly mentioned the Martha’s Vineyard flights in both his reelection campaign and during his failed bid for president. He highlighted them again during his speech this week at the Republican National Convention.

“Biden is just a figurehead,” DeSantis told Republicans gathered in Milwaukee on Tuesday. “He’s a tool for imposing a leftist agenda on the American people. They support open borders, allowing millions and millions of illegal aliens to pour into our country and to burden our communities — but just don’t send any to Martha’s Vineyard, then they get really upset.”

The revamped lawsuit filed against DeSantis by Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston — on behalf of some of those on the flight — as well as Alianza Americas, asserts that migrants picked up in Texas were lied to about where they were going and told they would have housing and jobs once they reached their destination.

"As our complaint sets forth in great detail, there is voluminous evidence that Gov. DeSantis directed and controlled the scheme to fly vulnerable immigrants to Massachusetts under false pretenses," said Oren Sellstrom, litigation director for Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston, in an email. He added the revamped lawsuit "now provides ample facts to support jurisdiction over DeSantis and the other named defendants as well. We plan to move forward expeditiously to hold everyone involved in this unconscionable scheme accountable."

Burroughs, an appointee of President Barack Obama, dismissed DeSantis and other state defendants from the suit in late March, determining there was “insufficient facts” presented in the lawsuit to tie them to any potentially illegal actions that occurred in Massachusetts. But the judge also allowed several claims against Vertol, the company that was paid $1.5 million to operate the flights, to proceed and determined some evidence supported allegations that the migrants were targeted because they were Hispanic.

The revamped lawsuit includes more correspondence allegedly showing DeSantis officials were crucial decision makers in carrying out the flights. As one example, the lawsuit argues the evidence shows that Lawrence Keefe, Florida’s public safety czar under DeSantis, and Uthmeier “spoke by phone at least four times in the ten days before the flights,” including two calls with the flight vendor.

The updated lawsuit also details correspondence between Perla Huerta, the alleged recruiter for the DeSantis administration, and migrants she allegedly steered toward taking the flight to Massachusetts. The messages show an unnamed migrant realizing that no one in Martha’s Vineyard was aware they were coming.

Florida orchestrated a second wave of flights in June 2023 when it arranged to fly migrants to Sacramento, but has not undertaken any operations since then. DeSantis, however, floated flying Haitian migrants to Martha’s Vineyard earlier this year.