Ron DeSantis paid Vertol Systems $1.5 MILLION in taxpayer dollars to fly deceived, trafficked migrants to Martha's Vineyard and Sacramento. We have to stop these flights before it's too late.

Sign the petition to demand that Vertol Systems STOP trafficking migrants NOW!

Dear MoveOn member,

Ron DeSantis used over $600,000 in taxpayer dollars to lure 50 Venezuelan asylum-seekers onto a flight to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.1,2 The stories from the Venezuelan immigrants are both heartbreaking and enraging. When they arrived, many asked, "Where am I?" They were intentionally deceived and were put on a plane with nothing but a fake brochure that said they would be given benefits like eight months cash assistance, housing, food, clothing, expedited work papers, jobs, and assistance registering their children for school.3 But it was all a lie. It's absolutely inhumane.

It turns out that Ron DeSantis paid Vertol Systems, a company known to back DeSantis allies, $1.5 MILLION in taxpayer dollars to carry out this flight and future flights.4,5

John, we cannot allow these flights to continue and must come together to stop them. Will you sign the petition to demand that Vertol Systems STOP carrying out these flights NOW?

Andres, one of the immigrants, said, "She offered us help. Help that never arrived. Now we are here. We got on the plane with a vision of the future, of making it. Look, when you have no money and someone offers help, well, it means a lot."6

And, unfortunately, Ron DeSantis, Florida Republicans, and Vertol Systems didn't stop with the Martha's Vineyard flight. In June, 36 Latin American migrants were deceived and promised work, housing, and food if they agreed to be flown to California on a chartered flight organized by Vertol Systems.7,8 And just last month, DeSantis floated the idea of flying Haitian migrants to Martha's Vineyard.9 Enough is enough! We have to stop these flights before it's too late. 

Click here to add your name to the petition to tell Vertol Systems: Stop organizing and carrying out these inhumane flights NOW!

 Families, including children, were transported across state lines under false pretenses. This was a premeditated, political effort targeting vulnerable people simply seeking a better life. Vertol Systems must end their role in these reprehensible flights NOW!

The migrants who were trafficked to Martha's Vineyard have since sued Vertol Systems, and a federal judge has allowed the lawsuit to proceed and said that there was evidence to support that the migrants were targeted because they were Latinx.10

The federal judge recognized these sham flights as a political stunt, asserting that DeSantis was exploiting migrants "in a scheme to boost the national profile of Defendant DeSantis and manipulate them for political ends," and ruled that the treatment of these migrants was "extreme, outrageous, uncivilized, intolerable, and stunning."11 It’s shameful that instead of treating asylum-seekers with the due process, dignity, and care they deserve, Vertol Systems and Republican governors like Ron DeSantis are exploiting them and using them as political pawns.

It must end. Sign the petition to demand that Vertol Systems stop trafficking migrants NOW!

This is not an isolated incident, either. Texas Governor Greg Abbott is also cruelly sending migrants across the country. And Republicans across the country have shown no signs of stopping their cruel, anti-immigrant agenda. 

In fact, after opposing President Biden's coronavirus recovery package, DeSantis allocated $12 milliom of interest earnings from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund (which is supposed to be used to help Floridians recover from the impacts of the pandemic) to implement this migrant trafficking stunt, with no regard for their safety or well-being.12

We must come together to demand that Vertol Systems stop organizing these flights immediately. Not another flight! Will you add your name to the petition?

We will not forget: Families, including children, are being transported across state lines under false pretenses. And immigrants are being treated inhumanely. We also can’t forget about the Haitian immigrants whom Border Patrol agents in Texas struck with horse reins.13 We can’t forget that there was and is a lack of food, water, and medical care in the migrant camps in Del Rio. And there has still been no accountability for that. 

These are not isolated incidents. They are deliberate actions relentlessly carried out by anti-immigrant Republicans. It's completely unacceptable, and there is no excuse for Vertol Systems to continue profiting off of deceived migrants. They must stop organizing the flights NOW.

Click here to add your name to this urgent petition, and then pass it along to three friends to spread the word.

Republicans want to divide us by demonizing immigrants. But no one is illegal on stolen land. And immigrants deserve to be welcomed and treated with due process, dignity, and care. Together, we can keep fighting for comprehensive, practical immigration policy, including a pathway to citizenship for undocumented folks.

Thanks for all you do.

–Jensine, Seth, Rahna, Sana, and the rest of the team

1. "DeSantis Flying Migrants to Martha's Vineyard May Have Violated Federal Law, Experts Say," Rolling Stone, September 15, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/168033?t=9&akid=382976%2E40999114%2EIDgkm5

2. "Watch: '60 Minutes' goes deep on Martha's Vineyard migrant incident,” Boston.com, October 16, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/189284?t=11&akid=382976%2E40999114%2EIDgkm5

3. "GOP governors put focus on migrants with Martha's Vineyard transport," Politico, September 15, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/168034?t=13&akid=382976%2E40999114%2EIDgkm5

4. "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis off the hook in migrant flight lawsuit as new details emerge," Tallahassee Democrat, April 2, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189285?t=15&akid=382976%2E40999114%2EIDgkm5

5. "Two planes of migrants landed in California within a week—both flown by the same air charter company," Quartz, June 6, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/189286?t=17&akid=382976%2E40999114%2EIDgkm5

6. "Migrants on Martha's Vineyard flight say they were told they were going to Boston," NPR, September 15, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/168035?t=19&akid=382976%2E40999114%2EIDgkm5

7. "Two planes of migrants landed in California within a week—both flown by the same air charter company," Quartz, June 6, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/189286?t=21&akid=382976%2E40999114%2EIDgkm5

8. "Asylum-seekers flown to California say they were deceived," CBS News, June 17, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/189287?t=23&akid=382976%2E40999114%2EIDgkm5

9. "DeSantis threatens to send migrants fleeing violence in Haiti to Martha's Vineyard," NBC Boston, March 20, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189288?t=25&akid=382976%2E40999114%2EIDgkm5

10."Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis off the hook in migrant flight lawsuit as new details emerge," Tallahassee Democrat, April 2, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189285?t=27&akid=382976%2E40999114%2EIDgkm5

11. "Migrants Secure Right to Sue Vertol Systems for DeSantis Orchestrated Martha's Vineyard Flights," MSN, April 5, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189289?t=29&akid=382976%2E40999114%2EIDgkm5

12. "Controversy continues over DeSantis' $12 million plan to transport undocumented migrants out of Florida," Tallahassee Democrat, August 28, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/168037?t=31&akid=382976%2E40999114%2EIDgkm5

13. "After Del Rio, some Haitian migrants found safety in the U.S. But many have not," NPR, September 7, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/168038?t=33&akid=382976%2E40999114%2EIDgkm5

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