California authorities blast DeSantis for migrant flight to Sacramento

California authorities are threatening legal action against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after accusing him of orchestrating another migrant flight, saying he is responsible for flying 16 migrants by private plane from New Mexico to Sacramento last Friday.

"It was the state of Florida who did it," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in an interview with the ABC News station in Sacramento. "They have documents that has the name of the state of Florida on it, it names the specific program."

"This is Gov. DeSantis' state of Florida, this is his cruel, inhumane political stunt," Bonta added. "Manipulating human beings, people, for whatever cheap political points he wants to get in his run for presidency."

DeSantis' office hasn't responded to a request for comment.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state is investigating whether any laws were broken.

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"My administration is also working with the California Department of Justice to investigate the circumstances around who paid for the group’s travel and whether the individuals orchestrating this trip misled anyone with false promises or have violated any criminal laws, including kidnapping," Newsom said in a statement.

Newsom later tweeted that DeSantis is a "small, pathetic man" and said "this isn't Martha's Vineyard."

"Kidnapping charges?" Newsom added in a tweet that included a link to a section of California's penal code outlining the definition of kidnapping.

Bonta said "we're looking at all possible civil and criminal actions that we can take based on the facts and the law here." The State of Florida, DeSantis and employees that work for the private vendor hired by Florida to relocate migrants could face legal action, Bonta told ABC.

"We're looking at potential felonies, potential misdemeanors," he said.

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.

Texas sheriff says charges warranted in earlier Martha's Vineyard flights

DeSantis drew national attention in September when his administration arranged for nearly 50 migrants to be flown from Texas to Martha's Vineyard. That action also is creating potential legal issues for the governor.

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."

DeSantis bragged about sending "illegal aliens to beautiful Martha's Vineyard" during his recent presidential campaign swing through Iowa. He has characterized the migrant flight as a way to impress on liberal communities the impacts of illegal immigration, while critics decried the move as a callous stunt that uses people as political pawns.

"I've been listening to these politicians talk about securing the border for years and years and years," DeSantis said in an apparent jab at former President Donald Trump. "I can tell you, if I'm president, this will finally be the time where we bring this issue to a conclusion."

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The 16 migrants flown to Sacramento Friday were dropped off in front of a Catholic Church after traveling from Texas to New Mexico.

"I want to say this very clearly: State-sanctioned kidnapping is not a public policy choice," Bonta said in a statement. "It is immoral and disgusting."

Bonta told ABC that 14 of the migrants are from Venezuela and two are from Columbia. They endured difficult journeys to the United States and "often slept on the street," he said.

The migrants already had applied for asylum when they were approached outside a migrant center in Texas, according to the Associated Press.

“They were lied to and intentionally deceived," Eddie Carmona, campaign director at PICO California, told the Associated Press.

What is the cost of the migrant relocation program?

Last month, the Division of Emergency Management selected three companies to execute Gov. Ron DeSantis' controversial migrant relocation program.

Picked were ARS Global Emergency Management, GardaWorld Federal Services and the company that carried out last year's migrant flights to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts: Vertol Systems Company Inc.

Bonta mentioned Vertol Systems in his interview with ABC.

"The state of Florida... euphemistically called this 'Voluntary Transportation Program' and it's being implemented by a private vendor, private company called Vertol Systems Inc," Bonta said.

Representatives from Vertol met the migrants in Texas and took them by van to New Mexico before flying them to Florida, Bonta said.

The Division of Emergency Management had posted a request for proposals at the end of of March, after getting control of the program and $10 million to carry it out through special session legislation. During the regular session, which concluded last week, lawmakers approved $12 million more for the program.

But the taxpayer cost will be more than that, as the program has already generated multiple legal challenges. Florida has paid two law firms more than $640,000 in legal fees for DeSantis’ relocation of nearly 50 Venezuelan migrants from San Antonia, Texas to Martha's Vineyard.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Documents link Sacramento migrant flight to DeSantis' Florida