Documents show how much Florida taxpayers have paid for migrant flights, indicate more may be coming

MIAMI – Newly released documents shed even more light into the planning that went into sending a group of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, and what could be still to come.

The migrants, mostly from Venezuela, were just some of the people put on planes in September and left in Massachusetts, all paid for by Florida taxpayers.

We’re now getting a look at just how much those flights cost and the planning that went into them.

The newly released documents show the private jet company that shuttled the migrants quoted the State of Florida more than $153,000 for two flights from San Antonio, Texas to Bedford, Massachusetts.

The flights were part of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ $12 million migrant relocation plan, his answer to what he calls, “President Biden’s border crisis.”

“All we’re trying to do is offer transport to sanctuary jurisdictions free to the alien but certainly not mandatory,” DeSantis said.

The documents give details about several high-ranking Florida leaders who were intimately involved in the planning of the flights, including DeSantis’ public safety czar, Larry Keefe.

Local 10 News learned Keefe used personal email accounts and a codename, adding to the secrecy surrounding the planning.

Additionally, an invoice shows the aviation company hired to coordinate the entire thing has received $1.5 million from the state, $615,000 for the first flights and another $950,000 for what are called projects two and three.

Those are yet to be carried out plans to fly up to 50 more individuals to Delaware and Illinois.

The documents show Keefe worked closely to plan the flights with a woman named Perla Huerta.

Huerta has been identified by several of the migrants as the person who recruited them for those flights.