Migrants who landed on Martha’s Vineyard were tricked by misleading brochure, lawyers say
Lawyers representing 30 of the migrants who landed in Martha's Vineyard say their clients received misleading brochures meant for refugees.
When roughly 50 migrants were flown from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, under a new program by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to highlight illegal immigration, they were given a brochure about housing, cash assistance and jobs for refugees.
But there’s one problem with what the brochure was promoting: The migrants aren’t anywhere close to being classified as refugees, a specific term under U.S. immigration law. The implicit promises of help, therefore, were misleading and potentially criminal, according to Lawyers for Civil Rights, a nonprofit legal aid group representing 30 of the people who landed on the Massachusetts island last week.
The Boston-based group of attorneys, which posted images of the brochure Monday on its website, has asked state and federal authorities to investigate the flights, and it is considering filing a civil lawsuit against Florida, said its litigation director, Oren Sellstrom.
“This is additional evidence that shows in writing that those false representations were made in order to induce our clients to travel,” Sellstrom told NBC News.
The brochure was first reported by the website Popular Information.
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