Activists want San Marcos to evict aviation company accused of chartering migrant flights

SAN MARCOS — This summer, when the political sparring between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was reaching its most heated, a charter airline headquartered in Central Texas found itself between the two ideologically opposed state leaders on opposite ends of the country.

Such was the case in June when California Attorney General Rob Bonta named Berry Aviation as part of the state's ongoing investigation into how 36 South Americans were transported to Sacramento via a Florida-run migrant program, signaling the San Marcos-based company could have been involved in what the Democratic law enforcement official called "state-sanctioned kidnapping."

Two separate groups of asylum-seekers were flown on June 2 and June 5 from Texas to New Mexico and then flown to Sacramento, according to a news release from the California attorney general's office, which announced the office would seek Florida records to investigate whether the migrants were given false information or unlawfully coaxed onto the flights.

Berry Aviation was one of two companies listed in the news release.

Earlier this month, members of Mano Amiga, a San Marcos-based advocacy group that organizes around criminal justice and immigration issues, protested outside Berry Aviation's facilities at the San Marcos Regional Airport, calling for the company to issue a public apology and "cease participating in a political game where humans are used as pawns."

The Oct. 15 demonstration drew about a dozen attendees, some of whom carried signs that read "Humans are NOT political pawns," "Berry out of San Marcos" and "Immigrants deserve respect." Speakers included representatives from Mano Amiga, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and the Texas Civil Rights Project.

One San Marcos City Council member, who is a member of Mano Amiga, called for the City Council to consider terminating Berry Aviation's lease agreements with the city.

"I'm hoping we can have a very real conversation as elected leaders, that our community trusts, to make decisions that not just impact us, but others," San Marcos Place 3 Council Member Alyssa Garza told the American-Statesman after the protest.

Representatives for Berry Aviation did not respond to a list of detailed questions from the Statesman or requests for an interview. On the day of the protest, a person who identified themself as a Berry Aviation employee turned away a reporter requesting an interview.

Online flight records on the flight tracking website AirNav show Berry Aviation operated an aircraft that flew from Deming, New Mexico, to Sacramento on June 5 — the same day the second plane carrying migrants touched down in California. Reached by a reporter for the Sacramento Bee after the first flight landed, a Berry Aviation representative declined to comment on specifics but described it as a "government flight."

Whether the City Council will bring up the issue in a future meeting is not clear. The investigation by California's attorney general's office is ongoing. A spokesperson for Bonta, the California attorney general, declined to answer questions about the investigation, including whether and to what degree investigators believe Berry Aviation was involved.

Berry Aviation is one of 18 private aviation companies at the San Marcos Regional Airport. Its website for its parent company, Acorn Growth Companies, states Berry Aviation charters both private and governmental flights, including flights for the U.S. Department of Defense in "multiple locations worldwide."

Berry Aviation relocated its corporate headquarters to the San Marcos airport in 1993, according to its website. Unless subject to an amendment, renewal or early termination, the company's current leasing agreements with the city run through 2057, according to leasing documents obtained by the Statesman under the Texas Public Information Act.

Lauren Surley, a city of San Marcos spokesperson, said the city is aware of the ongoing investigation by California's attorney general's office and has not found cause to terminate its leases with Berry Aviation.

"To date, the City has not identified a specific lease violation by Berry Aviation, Inc. that would authorize the City to terminate the lease," Surley wrote in a statement to the Statesman. "We will monitor the situation for any new developments and assess what, if any, actions by the city may be warranted."

Surley said the termination of the leases would require City Council approval.

Berry Aviation has invested in its San Marcos facilities since the start of its current 40-year lease. In 2018, a year after the City Council approved the leases, Berry Aviation began work on $2.7 million worth of facility expansions, according to Community Impact.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Activists call on city to end leases for Berry Aviation in San Marcos