(Bloomberg) — A sheriff in Texas said Monday that he had opened a criminal investigation into who had “lured and transported” migrants in his state to Martha’s Vineyard, a resort island off the coast of Massachusetts.
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“If you know or someone you know has been impacted, please email,” the sheriff, Javier Salazar of Bexar County, said on Twitter.
Salazar’s office, in a separate tweet, said the migrants, who had been at the Migrant Resource Center in San Antonio, were persuaded to leave and “flown to Florida, where they were ultimately left to fend for themselves in Martha’s Vineyard.” Bexar County’s government is based in San Antonio.
Last week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sent two planes to Martha’s Vineyard, best known as a summer resort for wealthy vacationers. About 50 migrants were onboard.
The planes “were part of the state’s relocation program to transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary destinations,” DeSantis spokesperson Taryn Fenske told Fox News Digital.
Church and community groups quickly stepped up to help the migrants, according to reports from the island, but local lawmakers also expressed anger at the unexpected arrivals.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, asked the Department of Justice to open an investigation into possible criminal or civil violations of federal law following accounts from migrants that they were allegedly led to believe that they would be transported to Boston.
Biden Accuses Republicans of Using Migrants as ‘Props’
Republican governors in border states have been sending thousands of people north — more than 10,000 from Texas alone — to Democratic-led cities including New York, Washington and Chicago, saying they should help handle the results of President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.
On Thursday, two buses carrying migrants were sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott arrived near Vice President Kamala Harris’s residence in Washington.
DeSantis, frequently mentioned as a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2024, defended his actions.
“We are not a sanctuary state, and we will gladly facilitate the transport of illegal immigrants to sanctuary jurisdictions,” he said last week.
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