TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Despite a call for an investigation, and ongoing questions about whether Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis broke the law transporting migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, Mass., the Florida governor is doubling down on his decision.

DeSantis described the flights as "voluntary," while speaking at a press conference on Friday.

"They're given a good ride," he said. "It's a humane thing to do."

But Democrats have accused DeSantis of using the migrants, who are thought largely to be Venezuelan, to help him get reelected as governor in November and to continue to build his political profile to run for president in 2024.

"We're not talking about a delivery of crates of shoes, we're talking about people," says Elizabeth Ricci, an immigration attorney based in Tallahassee.

Flight records show the migrants boarded two charter planes in San Antonio, Texas and stopped in the Florida Panhandle. Then, one landed in South Carolina and the other in North Carolina before arriving at their final destination in Martha's Vineyard.

Where the money came from to fly migrants

As part of this year's roughly $109.9 billion state budget – which had bipartisan support – the legislature allocated $12 million "to facilitate the transport of unauthorized aliens out of Florida."

"We're going to spend every penny of that," DeSantis said at Friday's press conference. Public records show the state paid a private contractor, Vertol Systems Inc., an aircraft solutions provider, $615,000...

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