A Texas sheriff on Monday opened an investigation into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stunt last week to fly migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Politico reports.
The DeSantis administration last week paid an aviation company $615,000 to fly 48 migrants from San Antonio to Massachusetts.
The Florida state legislature in the spring approved $12 million to move migrants out of Florida to other states.
The plane from Texas was routed through Florida before arriving in Martha’s Vineyard.
The move comes after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey sent buses with migrants to Democrat-led cities.
Probe:
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar, an elected Democrat, said he will investigate what he described as an “abuse of human rights.”
“Somebody saw fit to come from another state, hunt them down, prey upon them, and then take advantage of their desperate situation just for the sake of political theater, just for the sake of making a statement,” Salazar said Monday. “I believe people need to be held accountable for it to the extent possible.”
Salazar said the migrants were “lured” away from a migrant resource center under “false pretenses” and promised work opportunities in Massachusetts.
DeSantis defends:
DeSantis said in a radio interview on Monday that the migrants were “homeless.”
“This was a huge benefit to them,” he claimed.
The DeSantis administration denied that anyone was offered a job and said that everyone was given “multiple opportunities” to leave.
DeSantis on Friday vowed to continue to send migrants to “sanctuary cities.”
