Florida Governor Ron DeSantis defended his state's recent transport of undocumented migrants from Texas to California, stating that he has no sympathy for "sanctuary states" that limit cooperation with federal immigration agencies, such as California.
Rob Bonta, the attorney general of California, stated on Sunday that the state was investigating potential criminal or civil action "against those who transported or arranged the transport of these vulnerable immigrants," implying that Florida could be involved.
Desantis Defends Flying Migrants to California
On Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom tweeted that DeSantis could be charged with kidnapping. On Tuesday, he told NBC News that the migrants were "human beings used for a man's political advancement."
In his campaign speeches, DeSantis has included hardline immigration rhetoric and policy ideas, such as closing the US-Mexico border entirely and completing the border wall.
During the Wednesday event in Arizona, DeSantis criticized President Joe Biden's management of the southern border, describing the surge of migrants at the border as "massive dereliction of duty" by the president, as per CBS News.
On the campaign route, DeSantis has emphasized his deployment of Florida law enforcement to the Texas border and his September 2022 transport of 49 Venezuelan migrants from San Antonio to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
In May, he signed a comprehensive immigration law that provides an additional $12 million for this migrant transportation program. Other Republican presidential candidates, such as South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and others, such as former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, have held campaign events close to the border.
Wednesday's roundtable hosted by DeSantis was a function of his office, not his campaign. His roundtable with sheriffs from Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Idaho, and Georgia took place days after a chartered flight from Texas to Sacramento was organized by the Florida Department of Emergency Management.
Florida had been silent about the two flights, which began on Friday, until Tuesday, when the state released a video of migrants signing documents, waiving, and beaming while riding in an airplane, party bus, or limousine.
All asylum seekers voluntarily boarded the plane, according to a spokesperson for the state agency that contracted a contractor to orchestrate the flights. Almost five days after the initial flight, DeSantis commented on the transports in Arizona after being queried about them.
In his response, DeSantis also stated that "this policy had been deliberated" and "vetted" by Florida legislators who had consented to allocate millions for the migrant relocation program.
In September 2017, the DeSantis administration transported migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, a move condemned by Democrats including the White House. These initial flights of nearly fifty migrants prompted numerous lawsuits and investigations, according to Politico.
This week, a Texas sheriff recommended that charges be filed in connection with this effort. The flights to Sacramento sparked a fresh wave of outrage among Democrats, including the White House.
Migrants Flight to 'Sanctuary States'
During his re-election campaign and presidential campaign, DeSantis repeatedly brought up the flights to Martha's Vineyard, so it was remarkable that his administration waited days before acknowledging Florida's involvement.
Other Republicans have resisted Newsom with greater vigor than Newsom. DeSantis has been an outspoken and consistent critic of the Biden administration's immigration policies, and the state has filed petitions challenging a number of these policies.
During an hour-plus roundtable he held with several sheriffs and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody on the campus of a community college near the Mexican border, DeSantis reiterated his criticisms.
On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security reported that since the administration lifted Title 42, an order that restricted entry into the country due to COVID-19, there has been a significant decrease in encounters.
DHS stated that illegal entries between ports of entry along the Southwest Border have decreased by more than 70 percent since May 11 and that more than 38,000 individuals were repatriated to Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, and Nicaragua between May 12 and June 2.
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