Some of the illegal immigrants who were shipped from Florida to Martha’s Vineyard by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are now legally allowed to work in the U.S. because they’re considered victims of crime.
The migrants who illegally entered the U.S. applied for and received a special visa designated for crime victims, according to the New York Post. The migrants applied for a U-visa after claiming they were duped into boarding a flight to Massachusetts.
U-visas allow non-citizens to find jobs and work. Applicants cannot be deported while their visa is processed and approval of U-visas often leads to permanent lawful citizenship in the U.S. Congress only permits the federal government to issue 10,000 U-visas per year.
Governor DeSantis insisted that the illegal immigrants boarded all flights “voluntarily.” The illegal immigrants had arrived in Florida, a non-sanctuary state, meaning the state did not have allocated resources for helping non-citizens. Governor DeSantis sent the migrants to Massachusetts — in what some call a political stunt — which is a sanctuary state that harbors illegal immigrants and provides them with services and housing.
“Immigrants have been more than willing to leave Bexar County after being abandoned, homeless, and ‘left to fend for themselves,’” a Florida representative said at the time. “Florida gave [the migrants] an opportunity to seek greener pastures in a sanctuary jurisdiction that offered greater resources for them, as we expected.”
Arming illegal immigrants with immigration lawyers came after a sheriff in Bexar County, Texas, launched a criminal probe into the taxpayer-funded flights from Texas to Florida and then Florida to Martha’s Vineyard.
Sheriff Javier Salazar claimed that the migrants were “exploited and hoodwinked into making this trip.” Migrants were able to apply for U-visas after Salazar confirmed they were assisting with his law enforcement probe, according to the Post.
Separately, a federal judge in Boston ruled that the migrants who boarded the flight to Martha’s Vineyard are allowed to sue Vertol Systems Co., a Florida-based charter flight company, for transporting them from Florida to Martha’s Vineyard.
