California AG blames Florida for private migrant flight to Sacramento

California’s top lawyer said he believes the state of Florida is likely behind the arrival of more than a dozen migrants in Sacramento last week.

Over the weekend, Attorney General Rob Banto said he met with 16 South American migrants transported from El Paso, Texas to Sacramento by “private plane, with no prior arrangement or care in place.”

The Colombian and Venezuelan migrants turned up at the Roman Catholic Church diocese’s Sacramento headquarters Friday, state officials reported. California authorities are looking into exactly who recocated the group according to Banto, who also said he is investigating whether any crimes were committed.

Another flight carrying 20 migrants arrived in Sacramento Monday, according to the Sacramento Bee. That flight also departed from New Mexico and used the same private plane as Friday’s flight.

If Florida is to blame for the movement, the migrants would be the latest lifted from a Republican-led state to one led by Democrats.

Here’s what we know so far about the case:

The migrants had documentation from Florida

Although circumstances about the group’s relocation remained under investigation Monday, Bonta confirmed the migrants − which included men and women − had documentation “purporting to be from the Florida government.”

“While we continue to collect evidence, I want to say this very clearly: State-sanctioned kidnapping is not a public policy choice, it is immoral and disgusting,” Bonta said in a statement, adding he is looking into whether any civil or criminal law violations occurred.

How did the migrants enter the US?

The migrants entered the U.S. through Texas, the Tallahassee Democrat, part of the USA TODAY Network reported.

Eddie Carmona, campaign director at PICO California − a faith-based group that helps migrants, said American immigration officials had already processed the group and “given them court dates for their asylum cases when individuals representing a private contractor” approached them outside a migrant center in El Paso, Texas, the Associated Press reported.

There, Carmona told the outlet, they offered to help them get jobs and get them to their final destination.

“They were lied to and intentionally deceived,” Carmona told the AP, adding the migrants did not know where they were after being dropped off in Sacramento. The migrants, he said, have court dates in cities throughout the country and none of them planned to wind up in California.

The group was then transported from Texas to New Mexico and flown by private plane to Sacramento, California officials aid.

Tara Gallegos, a spokesperson for Bonta, told the AP the migrants’ documents indicated they were transported through a program run by Florida’s Division of Emergency Management and carried out by contractor Vertol Systems Co.

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Florida’s governor’s stance on immigration

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been a critic of federal immigration policy under the current presidential administration. DeSantis, who is seeking the Republican nomination to run for president, has heavily publicized Florida’s role in past instances in which migrants were transported to Democratic-led states.

In September, DeSantis took credit after 50 undocumented immigrants arrived unannounced in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The migrants − many if not all of whom are from Venezuela and included children as young as 3 − spent the night on a church property after arriving unexpectedly on one-way charter flights.

Neither Vertol Systems nor DeSantis’ office responded to requests for comment, the AP reported. Alecia Collins, a spokesperson for the Florida Division of Emergency Management told the AP in an email Monday she could not confirm whether the agency was involved.

Also on Monday, a Texas sheriff in Bexar County, where the migrants were approached for the Martha’s Vineyard flight, recommended several charges of unlawful restraint. The charges include both felonies and misdemeanors, according to the sheriff’s office. The case was forwarded to the local district attorney to decide whether to prosecute.

It’s not clear which individual or entity could face charges. A spokesman for the Bexar County Sheriff said “At this time we are not naming the suspects involved in the case.”

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How California’s governor reacted

California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom said in a statement he also met with the migrants and said officials are making sure they are being “treated with respect and dignity” through this process.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg issued a much more stern statement: “Whoever is behind this must answer the following: Is there anything more cruel than using scared human beings to score cheap political points?”

Contributing: The Associated Press and the Tallahassee Democrat, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Natalie Neysa Alund covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.