The law also specified that the flights were to be used to transport ‘unauthorized aliens’ – but lawyers speaking on behalf of the migrants say many of those who were flown to Martha’s Vineyard are seeking asylum, which legally places them in another category.

On Monday, two prominent Democrats in the Florida House of Representatives sent a letter to Republican legislative leaders calling on them to oppose “unlawful actions” taken by DeSantis and the state agency responsible for hiring the charter company. who transported the migrants to Massachusetts.

“It appears that migrants were taken from Texas, brought to Florida, and then sent to Massachusetts for political purposes,” Democratic state Reps. Evan Jenne and Fentrice Driskell said in the letter. “It also appears that some of these individuals may be Venezuelan political refugees fleeing an oppressive regime who are not illegally present in the United States.”

The pair also said it was “crystal clear” that DeSantis used the funds in a way not authorized by the state legislature.

While complicated, questions about how DeSantis used the $12 million awarded go to the heart of potential legal challenges to DeSantis’ migrant transports. Already, Democratic government and election officials, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Rachael Rollins, have called on the Justice Department to investigate DeSantis over the thefts. And on Monday evening, Bexar, Texas, county sheriff Javier Salazar, an elected Democrat, also said he had opened a transportation investigation into Florida’s GOP governor, though he didn’t specify exactly what. he was looking for.

Florida lawmakers passed a new state budget in March that included $12 million for the relocation program from interest revenue on the $5.8 billion Congress sent to the state in the part of the American rescue plan. The overall budget passed overwhelmingly, with only a handful of lawmakers voting no.

Yet a closer look at the budget process reveals that there was controversy surrounding the funds, particularly with respect to Venezuelan or Cuban migrants. Both groups are politically influential in South Florida, which has a large population of Cubans, Colombians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who fled their homelands to escape oppressive regimes or economic turmoil.

Republican Senator Aaron Bean told senators earlier this year — when asked about an identical provision that appeared in another immigration bill also pushed by the DeSantis administration — that it did not apply to those who fled communist or socialist countries and had requested asylum.

“They are here legally and the bill would not apply to them,” Bean said during a session in March.

Bean made his comments shortly after State Senator Annette Taddeo, a Miami-area Democrat, tried to get assurances that the state was not considering runaway countries like Cuba and Venezuela. as “unauthorized aliens”. His amendment was defeated by voice vote after Bean called it unnecessary.

The DeSantis administration did not respond to questions about the wording of the budget on Monday.

But during an appearance Monday on conservative radio host Erick Erickson’s show, DeSantis once again defended the relocation program, saying he wanted to restore politics under former President Donald Trump, according to which people applying for asylum could not enter the country.

“Most people crossing the border illegally are actually making bogus asylum claims,” DeSantis said. “If they make asylum claims that we know…will not be valid…they have to wait in Mexico for that claim to be adjudicated.”

Lawyers for Civil Rights, which says it represents about 30 of the migrants who were flown to Massachusetts, on Monday distributed copies of a pamphlet they say was given to passengers on the plane. The pamphlet, which was first reported by the Popular Information website, talks about the benefits available to refugees, a classification that migrants did not get.

Group General Counsel Oren Sellstrom told NBC News that “this is further evidence that shows in writing that these misrepresentations were made for the purpose of enticing our customers to travel.”

The legal group has already written to Massachusetts and federal authorities asking for a criminal investigation.

The DeSantis administration has refuted claims that those who flew were misled and said people had multiple opportunities to refuse the flights.

DeSantis’ decision to seek millions to relocate those who entered the country illegally was prompted by nearly 80 federally sponsored flights to Florida that took place last year. DeSantis first told reporters in November that he was considering a plan to bus migrants to Delaware, President Biden’s home state.

When DeSantis presented his budget recommendations for the 2022 session, he asked lawmakers for $8 million to pay for the relocation effort — and he also asked lawmakers to pass legislation that would bar state and local governments from to enter into contracts with companies that transport those who entered the country illegally in Florida.

When he first announced his plan, DeSantis hinted that Martha’s Vineyard would be one of the places migrants could be transported to.

“It’s kind of ironic, but it’s true,” DeSantis said in December. “If you sent them to Delaware or Martha’s Vineyard or some of those places, that border would be secure the next day.”