Lawyers representing migrants sent to Martha’s Vineyard file suit against DeSantis

BOSTON (WLNE) — Lawyers representing a group of migrants that were sent to Martha’s Vineyard last week have filed a federal lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

According to Lawyers for Civil Rights, the suit argues the nearly 50 Venezuelan immigrants were “targeted and induced” to board airplanes and cross state lines under false pretenses.

The suit further argues that the group had to learn on their own once they arrived in Martha’s Vineyard that “the offers of assistance had all been a ruse to exploit them for political purposes.”

“This cowardly political stunt has placed our clients in peril. Numerous laws were brazenly violated to secure media headlines,” Oren Sellstrom, the Litigation Director of Lawyers for Civil Rights.

Gov. DeSantis had taken credit for sending the migrants to Martha’s Vineyard under the state’s relocation program.

According to our sister station in Sarasota, DeSantis defended his decision again Tuesday saying in part, “I think it’s opening people’s eyes to the solution, which is let’s have a secure border.”