More than a dozen migrants from South America who were recently flown on a chartered jet from New Mexico and dropped off in Sacramento were carrying documents indicating that their transportation was arranged by the state of Florida, California's attorney general said Sunday.
The documents appear to show that the flight was arranged through the Florida Division of Emergency Management and that it was part of the state's program to relocate migrants, mostly from Texas, to other states, Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said.
The contractor for the program is Vertol Systems Co., which coordinated similar flights that took dozens of Venezuelan asylum seekers from San Antonio to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts last year, he said.
State officials did not publicly release the documents. And as of Sunday, there were many unanswered questions, including how the flights were arranged.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' office did not return calls or emails from The Times seeking comment, and it's unclear what role, if any, the GOP presidential candidate may have had in the flight.
But Bonta said the responsibility lay with DeSantis.
In an interview with The Times on Sunday, Bonta didn't mince words in blaming DeSantis, who only last week became a candidate for president, for the latest incident.
"This is Gov. DeSantis, this is his baby, this is his project, his fingerprints are all over it," Bonta said. "The governor signed it, the Legislature approved to fund it in the budget, and they hired Vertol Systems Co., a vendor, to carry out the work."
He added: "It's DeSantis being exactly who he is and advertising to the world that he is petty, little ... and full of political stunts that hurt, harm and abuse and exploit people to try and get cheap political points. It's wrong."
Calls to Vertol and the Division of Emergency Management were not returned.
The 16 migrants from Venezuela and Colombia were initially transported by bus from El Paso to New Mexico, where they boarded the flight to Sacramento, officials said. They were dropped off at the doorstep of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento on Friday.
Their arrival, for which no politician or organization has yet to publicly claim responsibility, adds fuel to a controversy over similar ploys by conservative politicians in Republican-led states.
They and their supporters have said the efforts are aimed at raising awareness of the influx of migrants over the southern border and bringing the issue to the doorsteps of authorities in states led by Democrats. Opponents describe the moves as cruel political stunts that use immigrants as pawns and leave them many miles from family, resources and even the courthouses where they are often expected to appear to plead their cases for asylum.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement on Saturday that he and Bonta, also a Democrat, met on Saturday with more than 12 of the migrants. Newsom added that his office and the California Department of Justice were working together “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.”
Bonta's office is investigating, he confirmed. He said his office would be "evaluating potential criminal or civil action against those who transported or arranged for the transport of these vulnerable immigrants."
Bonta said Sunday the migrants — most of them from Venenzuela — told officials that they were promised jobs and that someone would assist them in finding work. Instead, the group was dropped off at the Catholic diocese. When someone at the diocese opened the door, two men said they would return but instead drove off, leaving the group of migrants behind, Bonta said.