Topline
Sixteen migrants were transported from Texas to California on Saturday and dropped in front of a church without prior arrangements for their stay, a flight California’s Attorney General suggested may have been linked to the state of Florida—in the latest possible instance of migrants being flown to another state to make a political statement.
Migrants were transported from Texas to California on Saturday and dropped in front of a church … [+]
Key Facts
The migrants were brought to New Mexico and then flown to Sacramento, California, by chartered plane and were “dumped on the doorstep of a local church without any advance warning,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said in a tweet.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said the migrants arrived with documentation “purporting to be from the government of the State of Florida”—officials in Florida have not taken responsibility for the flight.
The migrants had already been processed by U.S. immigration officials and had received court dates for their asylum cases when they were approached with an offer to help get the migrants jobs and get them to their final destination, Eddie Carmona, campaign director at local aid group PICO California, told the Associated Press.
Carmona said “they were lied to and intentionally deceived.”
It’s unclear who paid for the group’s travel to California, Newsom said, but officials will investigate if the migrants were misled with false promises.
Key Background
Moving migrants from border states to make a political statement about immigration became a common tactic of Republican governors in 2022. Last year, a group of 48 migrants were flown via two chartered flights from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. At first, many on the affluent island were confused about the migrants’ arrival, until a staffer from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office took credit for the stunt. Some of the migrants later sued DeSantis, alleging they were lured onto the flights to a remote island under false pretenses. It’s unclear if DeSantis played any role in this weekend’s stunt. DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes. DeSantis is not alone: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bused thousands of migrants to New York City in what he called a protest against the Biden Administration’s border policies. That followed thousands of migrants arriving in Washington D.C. last summer. The city’s mayor Muriel Bowser (D) struggled to support all the migrants, calling the efforts a “humanitarian crisis.” Some migrants were even dropped off at the residence of Vice President Kamala Harris. The gambit has been sharply criticized by immigration advocates and Democratic officials, who argue the busing programs are cruel political stunts.
What We Don’t Know
While the migrants’ unplanned arrival in Sacramento mirrors that of migrants who were used as props by Republican governors last year, it’s unclear exactly who orchestrated the chartered plane for the migrants who arrived in Sacramento this weekend.
Tangent
The efforts to transport migrants come as border crossings remain at elevated levels. Arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border have set new records in recent years, driven in part by a surge in migration from Central and South America.
Further Reading
DeSantis’ Martha’s Vineyard Stunt Organized With Help Of Ex-Army Counterintelligence Operative, Reports Say (Forbes)
DeSantis Claims Credit As Dozens Of Venezuelan Migrants Arrive On Martha’s Vineyard (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/anafaguy/2023/06/04/16-migrants-left-at-california-church-without-warning-and-officials-say-florida-may-be-responsible/