Eisen/Wertheimer In Just Security: Was DeSantis Shipping Migrants To Martha’s Vineyard A Crime?

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“The treatment of the Migrants who were transported from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard has gripped the nation. There can be little doubt that it was wrong,” Amb. Norman Eisen (ret.) and Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer write in a detailed analysis of the recent actions of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis published today in Just Security.

In a “crass political stunt,” Eisen and Wertheimer write, at least 48 individuals who had recently fled Venezuela and taken up residence, with lawful immigration status, in Texas, were flown on September 14 from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard where they were essentially stranded. Governor DeSantis has taken credit for the stunt.

There are “serious questions about whether it was legal,” Eisen and Wertheimer write. “We emphasize again that as far as we are aware, no determination has been made that the Texas criminal law has been violated. But the allegations are serious ones which merit close attention.”

The Just Security analysis examines potential Texas state law charges that might apply and discusses what might be investigated as a possible crime based on currently available information and what additional facts might be developed.

Eisen and Wertheimer discuss the facts as now known, the jurisdiction, and potential charges against primary actors and others.

The analysis also examines issues that might be investigated as a possible crime, including: unlawful restraint; exploitation of child, elderly, or disabled individuals; smuggling and trafficking of persons; fraudulent securing of document execution; fraudulent use or possession of identifying information; and criminal conspiracy.

Read the full analysis, including detailed links and citations, on Just Security.

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