California Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with “kidnapping charges” due to flights of illegal migrants that landed in Sacramento.
“@RonDeSantis you small, pathetic man. This isn’t Martha’s Vineyard. Kidnapping charges?” Newsom tweeted Monday.
“Every person who, being out of this state, abducts or takes by force or fraud any person contrary to the law of the place where that act is committed, and brings, sends, or conveys that person within the limits of this state, and is afterwards found within the limits thereof, is guilty of kidnapping,” a legal code Newsom attached read.
.@RonDeSantis you small, pathetic man.
This isn't Martha's Vineyard.
Kidnapping charges?
Read the following. https://t.co/kvuxe8Fb6F pic.twitter.com/KyE1lJiIYo
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 5, 2023
California Attorney General Rob Bonta accused Florida officials of “misleading migrants over their transportation from the Texas border to Sacramento.”
Gov. Newsom issued the following statement Saturday on migrants arriving in California:
“Today, Attorney General Rob Bonta and I met with over a dozen migrants in Sacramento. These individuals were transported from Texas to New Mexico before being flown by private chartered jet to Sacramento and dumped on the doorstep of a local church without any advance warning. We are working closely with the Mayor’s office, along with local and nonprofit partners to ensure the people who have arrived are treated with respect and dignity, and get to their intended destination as they pursue their immigration cases. 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.”
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Florida officials clapped back at California Tuesday evening to disprove their claims.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management shared a video showing the the migrants traveled to California voluntarily and expressed gratitude for the flight.
"We made it to California! Thank God! Very thankful to God!" one man said in the video.
Here's a Rumble backup:
Florida's Voice reports:
However, a Florida Division of Emergency Management spokesperson said in a statement that the volunteers provided written and verbal consent.
“Florida’s voluntary relocation is precisely that – voluntary. Through verbal and written consent, these volunteers indicated they wanted to go to California,” the department said.
The migrants were brought to the Catholic Charities administrative offices in Sacramento.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management said a contractor was present and ensured they made it safely to a third party non-governmental organization. The specific NGO, Catholic Charities, is used and funded by the federal government, according to the division.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management shared a video of migrants signing paperwork, boarding buses and planes.
One video has text caption, “We made it to California, Thank God! Very thankful to God!”
Under Florida’s program, migrants would reportedly be voluntarily transported to sanctuary jurisdictions.
In February 2023, DeSantis signed a bill to allow $10 million to create the “Unauthorized Alien Transport Program” within the Division of Emergency Management. The program had sat previously under the Department of Transportation, where $1.6 million was reportedly spent to send nearly 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard.
Previously in May of 2023, the Florida legislature approved $12 million to help transport illegal immigrants from the state.
DeSantis said he planned to “spend every penny” of the allotted money to send illegal immigrants to “sanctuary jurisdictions.”
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