Some of the illegal immigrants that Florida governor Ron DeSantis flew to Martha’s Vineyard in September 2022 now qualify for crime-victim visas, allowing them to legally work in the U.S.
At least three of the 49 immigrants applied for U-visas last year, claiming to be victims of a crime. They allege DeSantis and other Florida officials tricked them into taking part in the flight operation two years ago with false promises of work and housing. The two charter flights took off from San Antonio, Texas, and made a pit stop in Florida before reaching their final destination at Martha’s Vineyard, an island off the coast of Massachusetts.
Immigration attorney Rachel Self said three of the original group of 49 Venezuelan nationals received “bona fide determinations” for their U-visa applications, meaning they can find jobs and stay in the U.S. without being deported while waiting for their special visas to come through.
“These determinations are one step closer to justice,” Self told the Boston Globe this week. “[They] further underscore that anyone who knows all the facts . . . simply cannot ignore the criminality of the actors.”
More determinations will likely be issued since all 49 immigrants were caught up in the same scheme, she added.
National Review contacted DeSantis’s communications office for comment.
Immediately after the migrant flights, DeSantis took credit for the taxpayer-funded operation. His decision sparked outrage from Democratic lawmakers and caused the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce to declare a “humanitarian crisis.”
At the time, a DeSantis spokesperson said the group of illegal immigrants boarded the flights “voluntarily.” However, critics view the flight operation as a political stunt that exploited the so-called crime victims. Texas sheriff Javier Salazar, who has jurisdiction over Bexar County which contains San Antonio, thus launched a criminal probe into the Florida governor days after the flights took place.
Salazar, a Democrat, permitted the illegal immigrants to assist with his law-enforcement probe, which helped justify their U-visa applications. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U-visas are “set aside for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity.”
There have been no meaningful updates in Salazar’s investigation since last year, and the local district attorney has not filed any charges against those responsible for handling the flights.
“The Bexar County DA’s inaction in this matter is concerning and cannot be understated,” Self said. “Crickets from the DA’s office. Why?”
Meanwhile, the affected immigrants filed a class-action lawsuit against DeSantis and other Florida officials for allegedly approaching them “outside of a migrant shelter in Texas and other similar locales” under the false pretenses of offering humanitarian assistance. The plaintiffs also claim they were told they were being flown to Boston or Washington, D.C., instead of Martha’s Vineyard.
A federal judge in Boston dismissed DeSantis and the listed Florida officials as defendants from the lawsuit earlier this month, but allowed the plaintiffs to sue the Florida-based Vertol Systems — the airplane charter company that operated the flights.