A group of illegal immigrants have started getting visas after suing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and a charter company for supposedly flying them from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in 2022.
This lawsuit was filed by three Venezuelan migrants, named Yanet, Pablo, and Jesus, and the immigrant rights group Alianza Americas, accusing DeSantis, his administration, and the Vertol Systems Company of deceiving them during a flight to the Massachusetts island, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The surprise flight to Martha’s Vineyard caused both the illegal migrants and the island’s residents to be shocked, leading U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs to decide that the plaintiffs could continue with the lawsuit.
However, Burroughs ruled that several defendants, including DeSantis, should be removed from the lawsuit due to a lack of jurisdiction.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar launched an inquiry into the accusations after the lawsuit was filed. He then concluded that the “individuals were persuaded to accept free travel based on false representations,” choosing to co-sign a letter recommending U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland conduct a federal criminal and civil investigation, per News 4 San Antonio.
The illegal immigrants who filed the lawsuit then received a applied for a special visa known as a U visa.
U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services states on its website website
that 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.”
Some of the suit’s plaintiffs have now started receiving “bona fide determinations” for their U visa applications, allowing them to obtain a work permit and avoid deportation until their applications are approved, per The Miami Herald.
It remains unclear how many received the “bona fide determinations” for this lawsuit, but the visa statuses could later be used to help the illegal immigrants stay in the country by transitioning into lawful residency.
The flight to Martha’s Vineyard in 2022 at the heart of the lawsuit was similar to the busing program being conducted by Gov. Greg Abbott to help illegal migrants travel to sanctuary cities across the country. Abbott said in a recent press release
that this program has led to over 110,000 illegal migrants being transported to cities across the country since starting the trips in April 2022.
The governor previously mentioned that he initially started this program with the intention of only sending illegal migrants to Washington, D.C., but expanded the range of destinations after receiving criticism from New York City Mayor Eric Adams. DX.
“We were sending them only to Washington, D.C., and quite literally out of nowhere, Mayor Adams starts criticizing me for sending them to New York City,” he said, as previously reported by
This program has sparked strong criticism from Adams, who filed a lawsuit against the 17 companies that provide charter services that have been aiding Texas in moving unauthorized immigrants, as DX reported.
Per the lawsuit, New York Social Services Law states that anyone who knowingly brings a needy person from another state to this state to become a burden on public resources must either take that person out of the state or support them at their own expense.
New York City is asking for $708 million from the bus companies to recover the money spent on caring for the unauthorized immigrants who arrived in the city. Adams stated that the lawsuit “should serve as a warning to all those who violate the law in this manner.”
