Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis’ recent decision to send approximately forty-eight asylum seekers, who were mostly Venezuelan, on a plane to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, has created political divides across both parties. DeSantis’ administration signed a twelve million dollar contract with Vertol Systems Inc, and paid an additional $615,000 for Vertol to fly the migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard (The Guardian).
With the migrant crisis being featured in the media, many Americans are heavily scrutinizing the DeSantis administration. DeSantis has provided limited information about the crisis. Most people are unaware why he paid Vertol Systems, and the actual contract has not been released. Ron DeSantis defended his administration’s choices, arguing, “We are not a sanctuary state, and it’s better to be able to go to a sanctuary jurisdiction, and yes, we will help facilitate that transport for [migrants] to be able to go to greener pastures.” DeSantis has claimed that millions of people have shown up at the southern border under the Biden administration, specifically in Texas and Florida. He believes that “Every community in America should be sharing in the burdens. It shouldn’t all fall on a handful of red states” (CNN).
Martha’s Vineyard is a small vacation resort frequented by the Obamas and other Democratic politicians, among others. It is unequipped for housing migrant groups. Nonetheless the island dwellers welcomed the migrants, held a donation drive, and moved them to a military base. (CNN). Javier Salazar, the Bexar County Sheriff, opened an investigation into the migrant crisis. Salazar believes that the forty-eight migrants were “lured under false pretenses” to a hotel where they were housed for two days. Vertol Systems then flew the migrants to Florida, and then to Martha’s Vineyard. The migrants were promised shelter for ninety days, help with work permits, and English lessons. Ron DeSantis claimed that the migrants all “signed consent forms to go” and were given “a map of Martha’s Vineyard” which held numbers for different services in Martha’s Vineyard (CNN). Migrants have also filed a class-action suit against DeSantis. They argue that they boarded the plane under false pretenses, and that the relocation violated their Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The suit asks a judge to declare DeSantis’ relocations as illegal in both federal and state laws, and also to prevent Florida from enticing immigrants to travel with false pretenses (The Hill). Overall, the migrant crisis has raised many questions for people with regard to how politicians view migrants, and makes the debate over the U.S. immigration policy even more heated.
