Massachusetts DA asks feds for probe of migrant flights from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard

A Massachusetts district attorney has now echoed Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar’s request that the feds investigate flights organized by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last fall that whisked 49 migrants from San Antonio and stranded them in Martha’s Vineyard.

In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois asked the Justice Department to launch a probe, arguing that the case is “available for federal prosecution” since the planes carried the migrants across state lines. Galibois said his office will share evidence with federal investigators.

“There are serious indications and allegations that [the migrants] were inveigled into making this journey,” wrote Galibois, whose jurisdiction includes the resort island of Martha’s Vineyard. “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.”

Bexar County’s Salazar raised similar concerns last month in a letter to Garland that was cosigned by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and that state’s attorney general. The three officials voiced concern that the migrants were lured onto the planes using “false promises” of housing and jobs.

The sheriff launched his own criminal probe of the flights shortly after they took place. Earlier this summer, he filed multiple counts of unlawful restraint, “both misdemeanor and felony,” against individuals involved in luring migrants onto the planes.

District Attorney Joe Gonzales’ office is still reviewing the case, according to an Express-News report.

DeSantis, who’s running for the Republican presidential nomination, has publicly acknowledged his administration’s role in the flights, claiming they were part of his state’s program to voluntarily relocate migrants. Civil rights groups argue the governor organized the headline-grabbing incident as a political stunt.

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This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 8, 2023.