Judge tosses lawsuit challenging DeSantis on migrant flights

TALLAHASSEE — A Leon County circuit judge Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed after Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration sparked controversy in September by flying about 50 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.

DeSantis administration attorneys argued that the lawsuit, filed by state Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-Hollywood, became moot when the Legislature this month passed a law aimed at bolstering efforts to transport migrants to “sanctuary” areas of the country.

During a hearing Wednesday, Circuit Judge John Cooper dismissed the lawsuit after Pizzo’s attorney, Mark Herron, acknowledged that it should end.

The lawsuit contended that a section of the state budget used to pay for the September flights was unconstitutional because it created a new program and changed laws about issues such as contracting. The law passed this month took a series of steps to address the legal issues raised by Pizzo.

Pizzo, an attorney, briefly addressed the judge Wednesday and said he achieved what he sought in the lawsuit, at least in part because it spurred the Legislature to make changes. “We got what we asked for,” he said.

Cooper said the dismissal should not be construed as a decision on the constitutional issues in the case. He said the dismissal stemmed from the legislative changes.

“Each side can take what they wish,” Cooper said.

The lawsuit dealt with the interplay of the state budget and substantive laws. Broadly, issues in the annual budget are not supposed to change laws.

The Republican-controlled Legislature last year included $12 million in the budget for the Department of Transportation to carry out a “program to facilitate the transport of unauthorized aliens from this state.”

The DeSantis administration used $615,000 of that money to pay Vertol Systems Company, Inc. to fly the migrants on Sept. 14 from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, with a brief stop in the Northwest Florida community of Crestview. Also, four additional Vertol purchase orders of $950,000 each are listed on a state contracting website for “relocation services.”

With Pizzo’s constitutional challenge pending, the Legislature on Feb. 10 passed a law that effectively sought to neutralize the legal arguments.

It repealed the part of the budget that was used as a basis for the flights and created the Unauthorized Alien Transport Program in state law. Also, the bill funneled the remaining money provided in the budget section back to state coffers and allocated $10 million to the newly created program.

DeSantis, who is a potential 2024 presidential candidate, frequently criticizes Democratic President Joe Biden on border and immigration issues. Pizzo said after Wednesday’s hearing that DeSantis is trying to use the newly passed program for political purposes and to set up a “showdown.”

COURTESY Migrants in San Antonio are loaded onto a plane on Sept. 14 to fly to Martha’s Vineyard. This photo was part of a public records release on Oct. 14. Florida officials blocked out the faces of the passengers.