June 5 (UPI) — Officials in California said they have launched an investigation after more than a dozen migrants were left on the doorstep of a Sacramento church without prior arrangement or care over the weekend.
The 16 migrants were flown by a private charted jet to Sacramento from New Mexico where they had arrived by bus from Texas, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement.
Rob Bonta, the California attorney general, said in a separate statement that the migrants were in possession of documents purportedly issued by the state of Florida, suggesting their travel was ordered and paid for by the eastern state’s conservative governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis.
Newsom and Bonta, both Democrats, met with the migrants on Saturday and the governor said the California Department of Justice was investigating the circumstances surrounding the migrants’ arrival in Sacramento, including who paid for their travel and whether they were misled by false promises and if criminal laws had been violated, such as kidnapping.
“While we continue to collect evidence, I want to say this very clearly: State-sanctioned kidnapping is not a public policy choice, it is immoral and disgusting,” Bonta said.
“We are a nation built by immigrants and we must condemn the cruelty and hateful rhetoric of those, whether they are state leaders or private parties, who refuse to recognize humanity and who turn their back on extending dignity and care to fellow human beings.”
DeSantis, who recently announced his candidacy for president and is campaigning on an agenda that targets social issues, has yet to comment on the migrant arrivals but previously found himself in hot water after he flew some 50 migrants to Massachusetts’ Martha’s Vineyard in September.
In May, the Republican governor also signed into law Senate Bill 1718, immigration-related legislation that, among other things, gives him $12 million for his Unauthorized Alien Transport Program.
Similar to the migrants who were transported to Martha’s Vineyard, the migrants who arrived in California over the weekend were approached by a private contractor offering them jobs and support, including with getting to a migrant center, KXTV reported.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said in a statement that the migrants had been “lured” to his city from El Paso.
“Whoever is behind this must answer the following: Is there anything more cruel than using scared human beings to score cheap political points?” he said.
Steinberg, Newsom and Bonta each said that the city and the state were working together to aid the newly arrived migrants.
“California and the Sacramento community will welcome these individuals with open arms and provide them with the respect, compassion and care they will need after such a harrowing experience,” Bonta said.