SAN ANTONIO — Top staffers in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's administration directly coordinated migrant flights from San Antonio to Martha's Vineyard, according to records obtained by KENS 5 through her sister station in Tampa Bay.
DeSantis's Chief of Staff, James Uthmeier, and Florida's appointed public safety czar, Larry Keefe, exchanged texts about the program as early as Sept. 5, nine days prior to the flights.
"I'm back out here. Conditions are quite favorable," Keefe wrote, likely from San Antonio, to Uthmeier.
"Very good," Uthmeier responded. "You have my full support."
Hours later, Uthmeier told Keefe that "TX is aware of Dash, FYI. No worries here."
It's not clear whether 'Dash' is a sort of codename for the migrant relocation program, but Gov. Greg Abbott has said he did not know the flights would happen.
The records dump also includes photos of brochures that operatives provided to the migrants they were recruiting to board the plane. The pamphlets include a map of Martha's Vineyard, labeled "Welcome to Massachusetts."
Another page in the handout describes "reception and placement services" available to refugees who resettle in Massachusetts. It makes reference to a cash assistance program not typically available to asylum-seekers.
A number of migrants are suing DeSantis and his operatives, arguing recruiters lured them onto the plane with false promises of jobs, housing, and expedited immigration paperwork. Many expected to land in Boston.
Instead, migrants landed on a resort island where no one expected them.
Migrants signed waivers to board the planes. Attorneys will argue operatives wholly misled refugees about the arrangements, nullifying their consent.
Bexar County sheriff Javier Salazar and his deputies are investigating whether operatives committed 'unlawful restraint' when they lured migrants onto the plane.
Screenshots included in Ulthemeir's text messages also make reference to a woman named Perla, bolstering evidence that a Perla Huerta recruited dozens of refugees outside San Antonio's Migrant Resource Center.
In the texts, migrants thanked Perla for sending them to Massachusetts. Other refugees said they expressed panic to Perla when they landed on an island, but received no response.