You read that right: Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis must be investigated for human trafficking and for violating federal immigration law.

Sign my petition: Investigate Ron DeSantis for human trafficking and for violating federal immigration law NOW.

Dear MoveOn member,

You read that right: Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis must be investigated for human trafficking and for violating federal immigration law. On Wednesday, DeSantis may have violated federal law by using over $600,000 in taxpayer dollars to lure 50 Venezuelan asylum seekers onto a flight to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.1

When they arrived, many asked, “Where am I?” They were intentionally deceived and told that they would be given housing and jobs and were put on a plane with nothing but a brochure.2 It’s absolutely inhumane.

If we come together, we can make sure that Ron DeSantis is held accountable. Will you take action now and sign my petition demanding the investigation of Ron DeSantis for human trafficking and violating federal immigration law?

The stories from these immigrants are both heartbreaking and enraging. Some of the families shared that they were staying at a shelter when a woman approached them and lured and recruited them onto a plane where she told them they’d be flown to Boston, where they could get expedited work papers. Others were told that they would be given housing.3 But it was all a lie. 

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." He then explained why he got on the plane with so little details. "Look, when you have no money and someone offers help, well, it means a lot."4

Massachusetts officials had no idea that Ron DeSantis was sending 50 people either. So when they arrived, they had to walk over two miles to find a community center that could help them.5 It’s shameful that instead of treating asylum seekers with the love, dignity and care they deserve, Republican governors like Ron DeSantis are exploiting them and using them as political pawns.

Add your name to my petition: Investigate Ron DeSantis for human trafficking and violating federal immigration law.

Families, including children, were transported across state lines under false pretenses. This was a premeditated effort targeting vulnerable people simply seeking a better life. And it is completely reprehensible. The time to investigate Ron DeSantis is NOW.

This is not an isolated incident, either. Republican governors like Greg Abbott are 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 MILLION 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 discriminatory state program which removes and transports undocumented people outside the state of Florida, with no regard to their safety or well-being.6

This comes at a time when Floridians are suffering through a health care crisis, struggling with soaring rent prices, struggling to afford groceries, struggling with rising utility bills, and struggling to afford basic necessities. But Ron DeSantis’s priority is to demonize immigrants instead of showing up for our communities.

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. We can’t forget that there was a lack of food, water, and medical care in those camps. 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 it needs to end now.7

Click here to add your name to my urgent petition, and then send it to 3 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 dignity, love, and care. Together, we can keep fighting for immigration justice, including a pathway to citizenship for undocumented folks. 

Thanks for all you do.

–Vanessa Brito

Sources:

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=19&akid=332618%2E40999114%2EAgPmMI

2. "GOP governors put focus on migrants with Martha's Vineyard transport," Politico, September 15, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/168034?t=21&akid=332618%2E40999114%2EAgPmMI

3. "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=23&akid=332618%2E40999114%2EAgPmMI

4. Ibid.

5. "Florida Gov. DeSantis says 50 people flown to Martha's Vineyard are 'illegal immigrants,'" USA Today, September 14, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/168036?t=25&akid=332618%2E40999114%2EAgPmMI

6. "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=27&akid=332618%2E40999114%2EAgPmMI

7. "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=29&akid=332618%2E40999114%2EAgPmMI

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