(NewsNation) — Migrants Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flew to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts back in 2022 may be eligible to get some legal protections through a visa meant for victims of crimes, according to media reports.
The Miami Herald wrote that some of the 49 people taken to Martha’s Vineyard applied for a “U visa” after saying they had been tricked into taking charter flights from San Antonio, Texas, to Martha’s Vineyard. Rachel Self, an attorney for the migrants, told the newspaper they reported being duped with false promises of jobs and other assistance.
“The U nonimmigrant status (U visa) is 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,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says on its website.
NewsNation has reached out to DeSantis’ office for comment.
The Florida governor, previously a candidate for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, sent two planes carrying migrants to Massachusetts in September 2022, months after another Republican, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, started sending buses of migrants to sanctuary cities.
Both incidents were criticized as an inhumane “political stunt” meant to exploit the migrants. Massachusetts State Rep. Dylan Fernandes, a Democrat, previously said in an interview with NewsNation that migrants were lied to.
“They were told they were going to be met here with jobs and housing. Some were told that they were going to different cities all over the country. At least one individual thought they were going to New York and some thought there were going to immigration appointments,” he said.
Yareliz Mendez-Zamora, of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, expressed shock “that our governor continues to use immigrants as political pawns.”
“We are just so desperate to see him end it. We want to be treated like human beings,” Mendez-Zamora said on NewsNation.
DeSantis, for his part, has responded by saying the immigrants were “more than willing to leave” Bexar County, Texas.
“Florida gave them an opportunity to seek greener pastures in a sanctuary jurisdiction that offered greater resources for them, as we expected,” DeSantis said last year.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar certified the migrants were victims of a crime, the Miami Herald wrote.
“Based upon the claims of migrants being transported from Bexar County under false pretenses, we are investigating this case as possible Unlawful Restraint,” Salazar said in a statement to GBH News. “We have submitted documentation through the federal system to ensure the migrants’ availability as witnesses during the investigation.”
With this designation by Salazar, the migrants can get “bona fide determinations” in their U visa petition, allowing them to get temporary work permits and protection from deportation until they can obtain a visa, Self said to the Herald. A federal judge in April also ruled that there is sufficient evidence that a private contractor hired by Florida intentionally inflicted emotional distress on the migrants, who filed a federal lawsuit saying they were deceived by the state of Florida, the Miami Herald wrote. However, the judge dismissed DeSantis and his current and former top aides from the litigation, saying there were “insufficient facts” tying them to it.
Newsweek in an article published Sunday wrote that Self said three migrants received “bona fide determinations for a new visa,” and she expects more to as well.
“The cases are so backlogged that USCIS issues these determinations to allow people to wait in the U.S. with work authorization until a visa becomes available, so that is what they have received,” Self said to Newsweek. “Ultimately, the adjudication of the U visa cannot happen until the U visa becomes available, with which current backlogs mean probably 20 years from now.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.