Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Hunter Crenian
On Tuesday, religious organizations labored to feed and shelter migrants from South America who had been flown to Sacramento under supposedly fictitious pretenses. California authorities were considering whether Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his team might be charged with kidnapping or other offenses for organizing the flights.
On two charter aircraft, over 30 asylum seekers, largely from Colombia and Venezuela, arrived in the state capital of California after, according to authorities, being promised jobs by individuals posing as representatives of the government of Florida. DeSantis and Florida lawmakers approved funding for flights from Texas to Massachusetts last year that transported immigrants to other states even if they never touched foot in Florida.
The migrants, who are living at two unknown places in Sacramento and have been given food, clothing, and smartphones to contact their family, have been helped by faith-based organizations and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Steinberg stated that Sacramento “should be a model for the rest of the state and the rest of the nation.”
The young migrants reportedly informed activists that they are prepared to work and contribute to the community, according to Gabby Trejo, executive director of Sacramento ACT, a coalition of Christian institutions in the Sacramento region. Before being approached in El Paso, Texas, by individuals promising jobs, she claimed that all of the migrants had been given pending court dates by American immigration officials.
“Because Sacramentans understand what it means to band together, and because we are here to walk with them, they couldn’t have found a better place to land,” said Trejo.
The involvement of the state in transporting the migrants has not been confirmed or disputed by DeSantis and other Florida officials. The flights were not mentioned by the governor during a bill-signing ceremony on Tuesday, and despite repeated requests from The Associated Press, his office has refused to release information about the trips.
Rob Bonta, the attorney general of California, stated that he is looking into whether criminal or civil charges can be brought, while Gavin Newsom tweeted that abduction charges may be considered.
DeSantis only recently declared his candidacy for president, but he has already made a point of emphasizing his role in helping to relocate migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, an expensive Massachusetts island, last year.
His most recent apparent action to transport migrants to the state capitol of California appears to be an attack on Newsom. Even though Newsom doesn’t want to run for president in 2024, he and DeSantis frequently utilize one another as political foes as they promote their particular style of leadership as a role model for the country. Beyond immigration policy, the two have clashed over matters like civil rights for LGBTQ+ people, access to abortion, and a number of other cultural concerns.
On the campaign trail, DeSantis has been keen to criticize progressive policies in Democratic strongholds like New York and California, asserting that people who fled blue-state policies were responsible for Florida’s recent population increase.
Despite the fact that Trump continues to command a sizable advantage in early surveys, DeSantis is now viewed as the most formidable Republican challenger to the outgoing president in the crowded GOP primary.
Advocates said it’s not yet obvious whether the recent newcomers in Sacramento intend to stay in California or if they’ll eventually look to move elsewhere. Four passengers who arrived on Friday’s first flight have already been picked up by friends or family, while the remaining passengers are still in the hands of regional advocacy organizations.
According to Shireen Miles, a longtime Sacramento ACT worker, the faith-based movement is also connecting the migrants with medical and legal resources. According to her, immigration lawyers are attempting to reschedule court appearances for a number of people who have hearings scheduled for as soon as next week in cities like Chicago, New York, and Denver.
Advocates said they have allowed the migrants to select their own meals and have taken them to a thrift shop to choose clothing since they arrived.
Cecilia Flores of Sacramento ACT said, “We’re letting people define what their needs are and how we can best address them.”
During a news conference on Tuesday, none of the recent immigrants spoke.
Some of the migrants who arrived on Friday were visited by Bonta, who reported that they informed him two women approached them and promised them work while speaking broken spanish. Two males joined them on the aircraft to Sacramento after the women took a land route with them from El Paso to Deming, New Mexico. According to Bonta, the same men were on the airplane on Monday.
“To see leaders and governments of other states and the state of Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis, acting with cruelty and inhumanity and moral bankruptcy and being petty and small and hurtful and harmful to those vulnerable asylum seekers is blood-boiling,” Bonta said in an interview on Monday.
On their nearly three-month trek to the United States, some of the migrants who arrived Friday informed Bonta they met and chose to stick together to keep each other safe as they slept on the streets in numerous places.
According to Bonta, the migrants’ belongings included papers mentioning the state of Florida and one of its chosen suppliers for human transportation. The document, he continued, “purports to be a consent and release form” and is intended to absolve Florida of responsibility.
“Of course, what’s important is what’s actually said, represented, and told to the individuals, and we’ve got good indications of what that was and the fact that it was false, misleading, and deceptive,” he said.
A Texas sheriff’s office revealed it had suggested filing criminal charges in relation to the two flights to Martha’s Vineyard last year as the migrants arrived in California on Monday.
Bexar County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Johnny Garcia said the agency is not naming suspects at this time. According to the sheriff’s office, there are misdemeanor and felony counts of wrongful restraint, but it’s unclear whether the district attorney will pursue them.
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Chris began his writing as a hobby while attending Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. Today he and his wife live in the Orlando area with their three children and dog.
