Legislation funding DeSantis' migrant transports unconstitutional, lawsuit alleges
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition annual meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada on Nov. 19, 2022. Photo: Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A new lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the legislation wielded by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to transport undocumented migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts.
Why it matters: Florida set aside $12 million within the state's Department of Transportation to transport undocumented migrants, but the language used in the budget specifies that the money will help transport them out of Florida — not necessarily Texas.
- Section 185 of Florida’s 2022 General Appropriations Act calls for the "transport of unauthorized aliens from this state."
Driving the news: The lawsuit, filed by legal advocates on behalf of immigrant rights organizations, alleges that the state's relocation program is a discriminatory attack and that the U.S. Constitution grants exclusive power to regulate immigration policy to the federal government.
What they're saying: Florida's relocation program infringes upon the "federal government’s immigration system by creating a separate, parallel immigration system, the lawsuit states.
- These efforts "came to a head on September 14, 2022, when individuals acting at the direction of defendants sowed chaos and confusion by fraudulently inducing approximately 50 Venezuelan and Peruvian migrants, all of whom had been processed into the US by immigration authorities, into taking a flight from Texas to Massachusetts, falsely promising them aid, jobs, and more."
- The relocation program's impact also "bears more heavily on one race than another," according to the lawsuit, which notes that the vast majority of transported migrants are asylum seekers.
- "Plaintiffs are already suffering injuries caused by the increase in fear and uncertainty borne by the community of immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean, who are overwhelmingly people of color."
The other side: "The relocation program was funded by interest from federal COVID dollars and lawfully executed under an appropriation of the Florida state legislature (that, incidentally, had bipartisan support)," Taryn Fenske, DeSantis’ communications director, said in a statement to Axios.
- "This program does not violate federal law. We will continue to defend the state’s actions against these politically motivated, unsound lawsuits."
The big picture: Florida's relocation program has garnered increased scrutiny in the weeks since DeSantis' migrant flights.
- A separate class action lawsuit filed by some of the migrants accuses his administration of giving them misleading information that promised cash assistance, employment services and housing assistance.
- A federal watchdog launched an investigation after several Democratic lawmakers called on the Treasury Department to audit DeSantis for possible misuse of taxpayer money.
- DeSantis has stood by the program despite the backlash.
Go deeper... On the ground: The scramble to help migrants on Martha's Vineyard
Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from Ron DeSantis' office.
