By Jim Saunders ©2024 The News Service of Florida
TALLAHASSEE — Alleging “inhumane manipulation” of immigrants, plaintiffs’ attorneys last week argued that a class-action lawsuit should move forward against Gov. Ron DeSantis and other defendants over controversial Florida-backed flights of 49 migrants from Texas to Massachusetts in 2022.
The attorneys filed a 101-page brief arguing that a Massachusetts federal judge should reject arguments by DeSantis and the other defendants seeking dismissal of the lawsuit.
“(At) the heart of this case is whether the laws of the United States and of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts permit defendants to lure vulnerable, innocent people onto a plane with false promises of jobs, housing, and support, and then dump them in an unknown place they did not agree to go, where they were not expected, and without any of the promised resources,” the brief said. “And whether the law permits defendants to thrust these recent immigrants into a highly contentious, politicized national debate, all for defendants’ personal and political benefit. The answer is a resounding no.”
The lawsuit was initially filed in September 2022 by attorneys for three migrants from Venezuela and the non-profit group Alianza Americas. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in March 2024 dismissed much of the case, including claims against DeSantis, his chief of staff, James Uthmeier, and a public safety adviser, Lawrence Keefe, but left open the possibility of the plaintiffs filing a revised version.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs filed a 104-page amended complaint in July alleging, among other things, violations of the migrants’ due process and equal-protection rights and false imprisonment. They also alleged that the flights were designed to boost DeSantis’ political profile before he launched what turned out to be an unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
Lawyers for DeSantis and the other defendants in September filed motions to dismiss the case. They disputed allegations of wrongdoing and raised arguments about a series of legal issues, including the case being filed in Massachusetts.
“Plaintiffs disagree with Florida’s policies and political leaders. Those disagreements, however, are no substitute for asserting plausible facts or viable legal theories, or for overcoming fatal jurisdictional and immunity obstacles. They are also not a valid legal basis for hauling Florida officials, including the head of its executive branch, into a Massachusetts courtroom. Even if plaintiffs’ claims were viable, they must be heard in Florida federal or state courts. For these and many other reasons, the (Massachusetts federal) court should dismiss the complaint in its entirety,” said a 98-page memorandum of law that accompanied a motion to dismiss filed by attorneys for DeSantis, Uthmeier and Keefe.
But in the brief filed Thursday, attorneys for the plaintiffs said the defendants sidestep “core issues of fraud, deceit, and discrimination and instead argue that plaintiffs have a mere political disagreement with Governor DeSantis about U.S. immigration policy and complain about being haled into court in Massachusetts to defend Florida’s enforcement of Florida law.”
“Were that the case, we would not be here,” the brief said. “But it was defendants who sought plaintiffs out in Texas, sized them up as unwitting pawns, and then deceived them into boarding planes bound for Martha’s Vineyard, all so that defendants could capitalize on news coverage and Governor DeSantis could claim credit. This is not a case about a political disagreement or enforcement of Florida law. It is about plaintiffs’ pursuit of redress for the very real and personal harms inflicted on them by defendants, all for defendants’ personal and political benefit.”
The flights, which drew national attention, took the migrants from San Antonio, Texas, to Martha’s Vineyard, with a brief stop in the Northwest Florida community of Crestview. The migrants were from Venezuela and Peru, according to court documents.
Also named as defendants in the lawsuit are Vertol Systems Co., Inc., which received a state contract to transport the migrants; James Montgomerie, the company’s president; and Perla Huerta, who recruited migrants for the flights. They also have argued for dismissal.
Attorneys for DeSantis, Uthmeier and Keefe argued in seeking dismissal, for example, that the plaintiffs failed to “state plausible claims for relief” against the Florida officials.
“First, plaintiffs allege that defendants fraudulently induced plaintiffs to board two airplanes leaving Texas for Massachusetts despite being told that the planes were going to Massachusetts,” the September memorandum of law said. “But there are no plausible, non-conclusory allegations that any state defendant made any fraudulent statements, directed anyone else to make fraudulent statements, or even knew about any such statements.”
But the brief Thursday disputed such assertions and argued, in part, the case should be heard in Massachusetts.
“Plaintiffs were lured under false pretenses to board planes bound for Martha’s Vineyard only to be abandoned and left destitute,” the brief said. “The anxiety, fear, and desperation plaintiffs faced because of defendants’ actions were felt in Massachusetts. The acute and physical effects plaintiffs braved as a result of defendants’ actions were endured here. This was the goal: for plaintiffs to suffer on Massachusetts soil for the sake of a photo-op.”
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