A prominent blue state governor mentioned as a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2024 has threatened a prominent red state governor who has already entered the contest with “kidnapping charges.”
Tuesday reports indicated that California Governor Gavin Newsom threatened Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for transporting illegal immigrants from South America to Sacramento.
Monday, Gavin tweeted about California kidnapping laws and referred to DeSantis as a “small, pathetic man” despite the fact that, under his and other Democrats’ leadership, California has long claimed to be a “sanctuary state” for illegal immigrants.
“This isn’t Martha’s Vineyard. Kidnapping charges?” Newsom tweeted, making a reference to a previous incident where DeSantis flew a planeload of illegals from Texas to the ritzy enclave in Massachusetts.
Fox News included:
More than a dozen migrants were transported from Texas to New Mexico before being flown to Sacramento and abandoned on the doorway of a local church on Friday, according to Newsom’s weekend statement.
A plane transporting 20 additional migrants arrived in Sacramento on Monday. The Los Angeles Times reported that officials from the California Department of Justice stated that both parties were transported by the same contractor and carried documents tying their relocation to the state of Florida.
“My Administration is also working with the California Department of Justice to investigate the circumstances around who paid for the group’s travel and whether the individuals orchestrating this trip misled anyone with false promises or have violated any criminal laws, including kidnapping,” Newsom claimed.
Saturday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a separate statement in which he disclosed that his office has opened an investigation into the migrant flights.
According to him, the state is “evaluating potential criminal or civil action against those who transported or arranged for the transportation of these vulnerable immigrants.”
“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 noted. “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 backs on extending dignity and care to fellow human beings.”
In January of this year, Governor DeSantis signed a bill allocating $12 million to Florida to continue its “Unauthorized Alien Transport Program.” The program intends to transfer undocumented immigrants to states with sanctuary city policies to demonstrate what DeSantis perceives to be Democratic duplicity regarding asylum seekers and as a form of protest against federal immigration policies under the Biden administration.
In the past, DeSantis has been accused of “falsely” enticing migrants into sanctuary cities and states.
Several Democrats accused DeSantis of legal violations, including “human trafficking,” in September, after he sent the migrants to Martha’s Vineyard. Newsom, in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, levied the “human trafficking” charge against DeSantis.
More on this story via Conservative Brief:
Some have also said DeSantis “falsely lured” or “enticed” the migrants to the island off of Massachusetts, claims he addressed during a news conference. CONTINUE READING…
