Late last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) sent two flights of illegal immigrants to Martha's Vineyard. Shortly after arriving, local officials of the island declared a “humanitarian crisis” and Massachusetts Governor. Charlie Baker (R) intervened to take those illegal immigrants off Martha's Vineyard to Joint Base Cape Cod.
The following day, all illegal immigrants transported into Martha's Vineyard filed a class action lawsuit against DeSantis, represented by lawyers from the non-governmental groups (NGOs) Alianza Americas and Lawyers for Civil Rights.
The illegal aliens assert in their suit that they were cheated by DeSantis, and were promised work as well as housing and food once they arrived in Martha's Vineyard:
The plaintiffs individually were among the people who landed on the flights. All of them were affected by the same patterns and practices of deceit and inducement in the weeks prior to their arrival at Martha's Vineyard, orchestrated by Defendant DeSantis , and then executed by the other defendants. [Emphasis added]
…
In the spirit of acting from the sincerity of their hearts, the Doe Defendants provided false assurances and claims that if the individual Plaintiffs as well as other class members agreed to travel on planes to different states they would be provided with employment and housing, educational opportunities, and similar assistance upon arrival. The Doe Defendants also assured the Plaintiffs as well as other Class members they'd be provided with assistance in completing their immigration procedures upon arrival at the destination. [Emphasis added]
In actual fact the defendants had not made any arrangements for housing, employment and educational opportunities or other aid for the Plaintiffs individually or for other class members when they arrived at their destination. They had not made any announcement to any non-profit or governmental organization who could provide these services that the particular Plaintiffs as well as their class members were expected to arrive. [Emphasis added]
The lawsuit alleges that DeSantis is breaking the Fourth as well as the Fourteenth Amendment rights of the illegal aliens by encouraging them to take planes towards Martha's Vineyard.
“By fraudulently inducing individual Plaintiffs to cross state lines in the manner described herein, Defendants unreasonably seized Plaintiffs without just cause,” the lawsuit asserts:
In a scheme to deceive plaintiffs' aircraft and travel across state lines as described in this case, Defendants engaged in an outrageous misuse of power, which took away Plaintiffs' rights in an act that shook the conscience. [Emphasis added]
The conduct of defendants in causing immigrants to cross states by deceit and false representation discriminates against certain individuals because of race or national origin … the conduct discriminates unlawfully against non-citizen plaintiffs due to alienation and denies them equal protection under the law in accordance with the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. [Emphasis added]
The suit seeks federal courts to decide that DeSantis had violated federal law by transferring illegal aliens into Martha's Vineyard and to prevent the governor from conducting additional flights of migrants to other states or localities.
The lawsuit is: Alianza Americas. DeSantis, No. 1:22-cv-11550 filed in the United States District Court of Massachusetts.
