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Records show Florida paid $1.56 million so far for migrant relocation program, not higher figure

The original story has been removed from this website.
 
A Venezuelan migrant is led onto a bus at St. Andrews Episcopal Church on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, in Edgartown, Mass., on the island of Marthas Vineyard. Florida flew a group of 48 migrants to the island from Texas.
A Venezuelan migrant is led onto a bus at St. Andrews Episcopal Church on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, in Edgartown, Mass., on the island of Marthas Vineyard. Florida flew a group of 48 migrants to the island from Texas. [ MATIAS J. OCNER | Miami Herald ]
Published Dec. 2, 2022|Updated Feb. 13, 2023

The Miami Herald has retracted a story that appeared on tampabay.com on Dec. 2, 2022, under a Times/Herald Tallahassee bureau byline. The story, which also appeared in the Times newspaper on Dec. 4, incorrectly stated the amount of money Florida had spent on migrant relocation.

The article, based on an interpretation of information on the state’s Florida Accountability Contract Tracking System website, cited multiple entries of $950,000, and another for $615,000, and incorrectly concluded that the state had paid a contractor $3.4 million for the flights, more than twice the $1.56 million previously reported.

The Herald continued to request information from the state to learn more about the payments and purchase orders. On Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, Florida Department of Transportation spokesperson Michael Williams clarified in an email that multiple entries of $950,000 in state databases were not separate purchase orders. “They are contract extensions.”

That means the state paid Vertol Systems Co. $1.56 million for the migrant flights, according to available records. In light of this new information, the Times has removed the original story from its website.