A Massachusetts federal judge has dismissed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and several other Florida defendants from a lawsuit filed on behalf of immigrants who were flown to Martha’s Vineyard in an immigrant-relocation program funded by the state.
Judge Allison Burroughs of the District of Massachusetts handed down the decision on March 29. The opinion allows three migrants from Venezuela and Peru and others similarly situated to proceed with legal claims against a plane company, Vertol Systems, which contracted with the state of Florida to fly the migrants to the Massachusetts island.
The actions of the defendant state officials – including Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue; Florida’s public safety czar, Lawrence Keefe; and James Uthmeier, DeSantis’ chief of staff – were not sufficiently tied to actions on the ground in Massachusetts to make them parties in the litigation, according to Burroughs’ opinion.
“... The general allegation that ‘DeSantis’ office arranged for (the) plaintiffs’ deplaning to be video-recorded and promptly sent that video to Fox News’ does not tie any one of DeSantis, Perdue, Keefe or Uthmeier, or one of their agents, to any of these transactions that happened in Massachusetts,” she said in the ruling.
The Florida Governor’s Office defended the state’s program to transport migrants from southern states like Texas to northern states that may not see the issues generated by the border influx firsthand.
“As we've always stated, the flights were conducted lawfully and authorized by the Florida Legislature,” a statement emailed by the Governor’s Office to the Florida Record states. “We look forward to Florida's next illegal immigrant relocation flight, and we are glad to bring national attention to the crisis at the southern border.”
Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR), a group that is helping to represent the migrants, said in a statement that because the dismissal of the Florida officials was done “without prejudice,” the migrants would continue to pursue their claims against the dismissed defendants – meaning that an amended complaint could be filed in the future.
“Put simply, the migrants will zealously seek accountability for what the court has dubbed, at this preliminary stage, ‘tortious’ acts,” LCR said.
The judge’s decision not to dismiss most of the counts against Vertol Systems, including civil rights conspiracy allegations, sends an important message, according to LCR.
“Private companies can – and will – be held accountable for helping rogue state actors violate the rights of vulnerable immigrants through illegal and fraudulent schemes,” LCR said in its statement.
Burroughs also raised questions about the purpose of Florida’s migrant-relocation program.
“Vertol and the other defendants here were not legitimately enforcing any immigration laws,” the opinion states. “Unlike (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents legitimately enforcing the country’s immigration laws … the court sees no legitimate purpose for rounding up highly vulnerable individuals on false pretenses and publicly injecting them into a divisive national debate. …”
Burroughs said the evidence in the case suggests a racial motivation in that those targeted as passengers for the flights were all Latinx immigrants.
“Treating vulnerable individuals like (the) plaintiffs in this way, as alleged and accepted as true for purposes of the motion to dismiss . . . is nothing short of extreme, outrageous, uncivilized, intolerable and stunning,” the opinion said.