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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The state of Florida picked up asylum seekers at the Texas border on Monday and took them to the California capital on a private jet at the expense of the taxpayer for the second time in four days, California said. announced by state officials. Migrants were misunderstood and caught off guard by shelters and aid workers.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials flew 49 Venezuelan immigrants to Massachusetts’ luxury Martha’s Vineyard enclave last year, luring them from their San Antonio shelters onto private jets, as initially. I kept my mouth shut.
Local authorities and faith-based groups sought to provide more than 30 new arrivals with housing, food, and other resources as California Attorney General Rob Bonta investigated immigrant transportation. Many were from Colombia and Venezuela, and California was not their intended destination.
Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom lashed out at DeSantis as a “poor little man” and suggested the state could pursue him for kidnapping.
And once the migrants arrived in California, the Texas sheriff’s office announced Monday that it had recommended criminal charges against two flights to Martha’s Vineyard. last year.
Bexar County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Johnny Garcia said he had not named a suspect at this time. It’s not clear whether the district attorney will pursue charges that include misdemeanors and the felony of wrongful detention, according to the sheriff’s office.
Republican governors of Texas and Arizona have so far sent thousands of immigrants by bus to New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C., but DeSantis’ rare charter flight marks an escalation of tactics. The two groups sent to Sacramento did not go through Florida. Instead, they were approached in El Paso by people with Florida-related documents, sent to New Mexico, and then put on a private flight to the California capital, California officials and advocates said. rice field.
DeSantis, who is targeting the Republican presidential nomination, has vehemently criticized federal immigration policies under President Joe Biden, and Florida has been one of the first to transfer immigrants to Democratic-led states. The role has been widely advertised.
He has made the immigration resettlement program one of his signature political priorities, channeling millions of dollars into the program using state legislative procedures and working with multiple contractors to carry out the flights. ing.Vertle Systems, Inc.The airline Florida paid to transport immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard appears to be delaying flights to Sacramento, California officials said. The company did not respond to an email seeking comment.
In Sacramento, a plane carrying about 20 migrants arrived on Monday, followed by another 16 from Colombia and Venezuela on Friday. Sacramento County spokesman Kim Naba said the new arrivals remained at the airport for several hours, fed, and then transferred to “religious facilities.” Nava said he didn’t know the nationalities of the new arrivals or where they were going in the United States.
“Our county social workers will be on the way to assess all of these people and make sure they get the services and support they need,” Nava said.
The first group of immigrants were dropped off at the parish headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church in Sacramento.
Eddie Carmona, campaign director for PICO California, a faith-based organization that helps immigrants, spoke of the first group arriving in Sacramento last weekend, saying that U.S. immigration officials had already processed the young women and men, and they were in court. He said he gave him a schedule. In the asylum case, an “individual representing a private contractor” approached them outside an immigration center in El Paso, Texas, and offered to help them find work and get them to their final destination.
“They were lied to and deceived on purpose,” Carmona said, adding that the migrants had no idea where they were after being dropped off in Sacramento. He said they are holding courts in cities across the country, but none of them were going to end up in California.
Asylum seekers can change the location of their court appearances, but many are reluctant to try, preferring to stick to definite dates, at least for their first court appearance. They see it as a guarantee, even if it’s a huge inconvenience.
The office of New Mexico Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has not provided details as to why the migrants were taken from Texas to New Mexico and then flown to California.
“Governor. Gov. Lujan Grisham reiterated the urgent need for comprehensive and thoughtful federal immigration reform rooted in a humanitarian response with communities in the border areas in mind,” said Governor Spokesperson Caroline Grisham. Sweeney said Monday.
Last year, Mr. DeSantis directed Republican lawmakers in Florida to create a program specifically for immigrant migration within his office. It specified that states could transport immigrants from anywhere in the country. The law was enacted to avoid questions about the legality of transporting people on planes originating from Texas.
Florida’s alleged involvement in both groups’ arrival in Sacramento intensifies a political feud between DeSantis and Newsom, who have offered conflicting visions on immigration, abortion and a host of other issues. is certain. ___
Rodriguez reported from San Francisco. Contributed by Associated Press reporter Anthony Izaguirre of Tallahassee, Florida; Paul J. Weber of Austin, Texas; Susan Montoya Bryan of Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Elliot Spagat of San Diego.
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See more coverage of immigration by The Associated Press: https://apnews.com/hub/immigration
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