Massachusetts DA refers case of DeSantis-flown immigrants to Merrick Garland
Rachel Schilke
Video Embed
A district attorney in Massachusetts is calling on U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to launch an investigation into the arrival of nearly 50 immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard. The attorney is the latest state official to ask for a federal criminal inquiry.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and his administration sent 49 immigrants on two planes to the island last September, a move employed by Republican governors like DeSantis and Greg Abbott (TX) to alleviate immigration influx at the southern border.
TIM SCOTT’S MESSAGING AND STRATEGIES COULD SHIFT DESANTIS OUT OF SECOND PLACE
Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois sent a letter to Garland on Monday asking him to launch federal and criminal investigations into the migrant transports, noting “serious indications and allegations” that the immigrants were tricked into making the journey.
“Subsequent reporting and public statements also indicate that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration planned, initiated, funded with taxpayer monies, and executed this enterprise,” Galibois wrote.
Galibois argued that the “enterprise” was “hatched” in Florida and launched in Texas, with the planes bringing the immigrants “briefly” to North Carolina and South Carolina before concluding in Massachusetts.
“My office posits that, due to the interstate transportation of these migrants, this alleged scheme remains available for federal prosecution,” the district attorney wrote.
https://twitter.com/klasfeldreports/status/1686053958077292544?s=46&t=Gepuixs8AegS3Gcy3aXO2g
Several of the immigrants who arrived in Martha’s Vineyard claimed that they had been duped by the DeSantis administration into taking the flight under false pretenses. They said they were offered gift certifications and promises of employment and housing upon their arrival at the island.
Those immigrants filed a federal class-action lawsuit against DeSantis the week after they arrived.
Galibois is following the lead of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Bexar County, Texas, Sheriff Javier Salazar, who joined together to send a similar request to Garland on July 6.
The threesome asked the attorney general to investigate the transportation of immigrants to Massachusetts and California over the last nine months, saying it is “unconscionable to use people as political props.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
A spokesperson from DeSantis’s office previously clarified to the Washington Examiner that written or verbal consent was accepted before the immigrants boarded planes. The Florida governor has previously criticized President Joe Biden and Democrats for a perceived lack of effort to address the influx of illegal immigrants at the Texas border.
The Washington Examiner reached out to DeSantis’s office for comment on Galibois’s letter to Garland.