Florida’s relocation program can create hurdles for immigration cases, Miami lawyers say

Miami immigration lawyers say that the state-sponsored transportation of migrants, such as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ relocation of dozens of Venezuelans, can create serious additional hurdles for people navigating the U.S. immigration system.

On Wednesday, Florida’s governor took credit for chartering two planes to carry 48 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, the wealthy vacation island off Massachusetts’ coast.

The Herald spoke to half a dozen South Florida legal experts, who said that the cross-country relocations of migrants that Texas and Florida have undertaken isolates migrants from their U.S.-based support networks. It could also create challenges for people to comply with their immigration responsibilities as mandated by federal authorities, with repercussions ranging from additional paperwork to detainment and deportation.

“When the states are interfering with a federal process that corresponds to the Department of Homeland Security,” said Miami immigration attorney Angel Leal, “it creates a number of issues.”

One of the reasons Homeland Security asks for a destination city when people are released and placed in immigration proceedings is to see if they have a support network that will help them as recently arrived immigrants. It also allows the agency to pin down an address where they can be found, said immigration lawyers.

But being far away from their intended destinations — where they might know of available resources or have family and friends that can aid them — can make things much harder, especially if people are sent to places where there are no lawyers and groups who offer services to immigrants. Studies have shown that people with legal representation fare better at every stage of their immigration case compared to those who do not.

“If your destination city was Miami, Newark, New York, San Francisco, and all of a sudden they send you to Martha’s Vineyard, and you have no family or friends, then getting back to where it is that you have some sort of family or community support may entail some additional difficulties in a process that’s difficult as it is,” said Leal. That could result in delays in asylum applications, which must be filed within a year of arriving.

Leal emphasized that while the “bigger issue is the state interference with the orderly immigration process regarding” the Martha’s Vineyard migrants, people are not exempted from applying for asylum on time or attending hearings and appointments as required by law.

Additionally migrants are typically ordered to check in at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office nearest their destination.

‘Sadistic lie.’ Venezuelans flown to Martha’s Vineyard search for a way off the island

“If, for example, these immigrants told ICE that their final destination was going to be New York, they will have ordered them to go to the New York ICE office to check in,” said Church World Service Legal Director Maureen Porras. “That puts these immigrants at a disadvantage and in danger of violating their requirements to check in where their final destination was supposed to be.”

If people are unable to attend an ICE appointment, they can reschedule online or send an email to their local office in advance to avoid possible penalties. But attorneys said immigrants who don’t show up to their appointments can be detained or deemed fugitives.

Attorneys who went to Martha’s Vineyard to help the migrants said they had to report to authorities as soon as Monday.

When the federal government loses track of where people are it can be a serious issue for both sides, said former ICE counsel and immigration attorney Rebeca Sanchez-Roig. And if they are relocated by a program like the ones Texas and Florida are undertaking and don’t notify the government about their address change, they will not receive critical documents.

“What DeSantis has done is setting up the steps that will result quite likely in these individuals being deported because they will not get notices,” she said.

Undocumented immigrants could also miss federal court hearings if they are thousands of miles away. A lack of money can prevent them from traveling.

Failing to appear at an immigration hearing can result in a judge issuing a deportation order.

DeSantis has publicly positioned himself as an immigration hardliner taking on the Biden’s administration. But Catholic Legal Services Executive Director Randy McGrorty said his actions actually impede federal immigration enforcement.

McGrorty said DeSantis’ goal of keeping migrants away from Florida would fail because people will still find their way to the state due to its community and cultural ties with their former countries.

Migrants leave Martha’s Vineyard for military base on Cape Cod

The head of a national Hispanic organization, the League of United Latin American Citizens said that some of the migrants planned to travel to Florida next after leaving Martha’s Vineyard on Friday.

“He’s exacerbating a problem, frustrating immigration enforcement, and he’s not accomplishing the goals he wants,” said McGrorty.