Authorities in Texas have opened a criminal investigation into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ operation to fly roughly 50 Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard last week.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said in a news release Monday that his office is investigating whether the migrants were the victims of a crime.
“The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has opened an investigation into the migrants that were lured from the Migrant Resource Center, located in Bexar County, TX, and flown to Florida, where they were ultimately left to fend for themselves in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts,” said Salazar, referring to an aid center for migrants in San Antonio, which is in Bexar County.
A group of immigrants gathers outside St. Andrews Episcopal Church on Thursday in Edgartown, Mass., on Martha’s Vineyard. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday flew two planes of immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard, escalating a tactic by Republican governors to draw attention to what they consider to be the Biden administration’s failed border policies. Ron Schloerb/The Cape Cod Times via Associated Press
Salazar said his office was working with private attorneys for the migrants, as well as advocacy groups.
“We are also preparing to work with any federal agencies that have concurrent jurisdiction, should the need arise,” added Salazar, who is a Democrat.
Several migrants said that a woman known as “Perla” approached them outside the migrant center and offered them jobs and assistance if they flew to Massachusetts. Those claims of employment and other opportunities turned out to be false as officials on Martha’s Vineyard were unprepared for their arrival Wednesday.
In addition, brochures provided to the migrants said they could receive cash assistance and employment services in Massachusetts. The brochures included the phone number and website of the Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants. The office said it did not print the brochures, which were shared with the Herald by Lawyers for Civil Rights, a Boston-based legal group representing some of the migrants.
“Perla’s” full name and connections have not yet been publicly revealed.
DeSantis has taken responsibility for the two charter flights, saying they were conducted with Florida taxpayer money. All the migrants boarded in San Antonio, although the planes stopped in Florida’s Panhandle to refuel.
In response to a request for comment, Jeremy Redfern, DeSantis’ deputy press secretary did not respond with words.
Instead, he emailed a screenshot of a news story with the headline: “Bexar County Sheriff Salazar says Biden admin’s handling of immigration ‘isn’t working.’ “
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