Migrants who landed in Martha’s Vineyard last week were targeted to board a plane in Texas in a manner that showed a deliberate effort to “usurp the federal government’s exclusive authority over immigration,” according to Lawyers for Civil Rightsa Boston-based group.
The civil rights group filed a federal civil rights class action lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Jared Perdue, the state’s Department of Transportation secretary, the state of Florida and other accomplices for the unlawful relocation of immigrants through fraudulent means, according to Executive Director Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal.
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Espinoza-Madrigal, staff attorney Mirian Albert and Alianza Americas Executive Director Oscar Chacón, held a virtual press conference on Wednesday to further explain the rationale for the lawsuit. Espinoza-Madrigal has called the lawsuit the first of its kind in the nation.
The Lawyers for Civil Rights has filed a series of constitutional and other claims against the defendants, including illegal seizure, false arrest, deprivation of liberty and discrimination claims under 14th Amendment equal protection principles.
The legal group is representing not only the migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard last week, but all “similarly situated migrants” across the country who have been fraudulently induced by Gov. DeSantis to cross state lines through misrepresentations, Espinoza-Madrigal said.
“We also have a federal preemption claim which we are raising because the defendants specifically intervened in the orderly administration of federal immigration law,” Espinoza-Madrigal said.
Deliberate, intentional interference in ongoing immigration matters, according to Lawyers for Civil Rights
According to Espinoza-Madrigal, the defendants specifically targeted immigrants who had surrendered