A Texas district attorney has dropped its pursuit of criminal charges in connection with the flights of migrants from the Lone Star State to Martha’s Vineyard by Florida officials in 2022. 

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office in 2023 had recommended several charges of unlawful restraint for two unspecified individuals who were involved in the flights, which brought about 50 unknowing asylum seekers from San Antonio to the Vineyard.

But in a statement last week, Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzalez said he could no longer pursue the charges due to a lack of evidence. 

“For more than two years now, a thorough review of evidence – documents, witness statements, and other information – was conducted by several different senior-level prosecutors, and ultimately, the office concluded that there was insufficient evidence to proceed with prosecution for unlawful restraint,” his office said in the statement. 

To have proven the case, the district attorney’s office would have had to ensure that all elements of the offense were met, including intent, restriction of liberty, lack of consent, and deception.

“As prosecutors, it is our sworn duty to bring charges only when the facts of the case support them,” Mr. Gonzalez said in the statement. “In this particular instance, we diligently reviewed what was filed and determined there was not enough evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law that would result in a successful prosecution. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took credit for chartering two planes that took the mostly Venezuelan migrants to the Vineyard airport in September 2022, part of a publicity stunt to highlight illegal immigration at the southern border. 

Immigrants on the flights said they were given false promises of employment, housing and education, and were not told they were being brought to Martha’s Vineyard. 

When they arrived with no place to stay, the Vineyard community came together to provide aid. After a two-day stay at St. Andrew’s church in Edgartown, the migrants were brought to Joint Base Cape Cod. 

Some individuals returned to the Island but most remained on the mainland as they work their way through the immigration process.

Rachel Self, an Island immigration attorney who was involved in the initial response, believed politics had played a part in the district attorney’s decision to not prosecute.

“Despite the sheriff and his team conducting a thorough investigation across multiple states with more than 50 witnesses, and providing his detailed report and findings recommending prosecution to the Bexar County District Attorney, the Bexar County District Attorney chose to do nothing,” she said. “Notwithstanding the copious evidence, including text messages from Florida authorities, contracts with vendors, forensic interviews and accounts from the migrants themselves, the district attorney failed to even bother to [go to a] Grand Jury.”

Ms. Self also felt that the migrant flights were a canary in the coal mine for some of the immigration practices under the Trump administration. 

“It was a test, whether anyone involved knew it at the time, of what we would tolerate, of how much hate could be leveraged for political gain, of how human rights abuses against others would be viewed by the people of our country.” she said.

While criminal charges in Texas aren’t going forward, a civil lawsuit in Massachusetts federal court is still proceeding against the company that was granted $1.5 million from the state of Florida to conduct the flights. 

A judge ruled last year that the case, brought forth by three migrants and nonprofit Alianza Americas, could continue against Vertol Systems Company. Several other individuals, including Governor DeSantis, were dismissed from that case due to insufficient evidence to tie them to any illegal activity in Massachusetts. 

Attorneys for the migrants in that case did make a settlement proposal in May 2024, but Vertol was not willing to meet the demands, according to court filings. Both sides are amassing evidence for a potential trial and the next hearing in that case is scheduled for April 2026.