Gavin Newsom, AG Rob Bonta, Texas sheriff call for federal investigation into migrant flights

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta and the sheriff of Bexar County, Texas, are demanding more answers for the flights that have transported Latin American migrants to Sacramento and Massachusetts over the last nine months.

On Thursday, Bonta tweeted a letter sent to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland that calls for a Department of Justice investigation into the program funded by the state of Florida.

“It is unconscionable to use people as political props by persuading them to travel to another state based on false or deceptive representations,” the letter states. “We urge USDOJ to investigate potential violations of federal law by those involved in this scheme.”

Last month, 36 migrants — all adults and the majority of them from Venezuela — were ferried to Sacramento in two separate flights. Documents reviewed by The Sacramento Bee show Florida contracted with Vertol Systems Co. to carry out the flights.

It is the same company Florida enlisted last September to fly 49 migrants from San Antonio, Texas, to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has acknowledged his state was responsible for the flights but argued the migrants went willingly through signed waivers.

The migrants who arrived in Sacramento have stated they were deceived after they say they were promised housing, jobs and immigration services.

Some individuals who signed the contracts said they did not comprehend the consent forms because they were in English. One man says he did not sign the documents, providing The Bee with an English and Spanish copy.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar, who launched an investigation into the Martha’s Vineyard flight, has recommended criminal charges be filed. The case is now being reviewed by the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office in San Antonio, which will determine whether to move forward with the charges.

The California Department of Justice is also investigating the circumstances surrounding the arrival of the migrants in Sacramento.

The letter to Garland says these separate investigations should not deter the Department of Justice because the flights span at least five states.

“We won’t stand by as people are used for cheap political stunts,” tweeted Bonta on Thursday.