Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has clapped back at a Democratic sheriff in Texas who has announced an investigation after the Sunshine State leader flew 50 migrants to ritzy left-wing Martha’s Vineyard last week.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar told a press conference Monday he was “bother[ed]” by the flights “and so we are absolutely opening up an investigation into this.”
That said, Salazar admitted that he could not think of any laws that DeSantis might have broken — in Texas or his county, in particular.
Earlier, Salazar claimed that the migrants were “lured” into the flight, but reports refuted that, nothing they had been given a brochure showing that they were going to Massachusetts.
“That does tend to bother me quite a bit,” Salazar said. “And so we are absolutely opening up an investigation into this.”
“I believe people need to be held accountable for it to the extent possible,” he added. “At this point, I’m not able to definitively say here’s the statute that they broke either federal, state or local. But what I can tell you is it’s wrong just from a human rights perspective, what was done to these folks is wrong.”
“From now on out, we’re hoping to talk to some of these victims and witnesses firsthand to find out what was said what was done, how were you lured into this, and then the full extent of how they were placed in harm’s way,” Salazar continued. “At that point, we will make the determination if there was any criminal activity. Certainly, I can tell you right now, the allegations that we’ve heard, is absolutely distasteful. It’s disgusting.”
A spokesman for DeSantis has since responded to the Texas lawman.
“Immigrants have been more than willing to leave Bexar County after being abandoned, homeless, and ‘left to fend for themselves,'” the spokesperson said, according to The Daily Wire.
“Florida gave them an opportunity to seek greener pastures in a sanctuary jurisdiction that offered greater resources for them, as we expected,” the spokesperson continued. “Unless the MA national guard has abandoned these individuals, they have been provided accommodations, sustenance, clothing and more options to succeed following their unfair enticement into the United States, unlike the 53 immigrants who died in a truck found abandoned in Bexar County this June.”
DeSantis told a press conference after he flew the migrants to the liberal enclave that the company contracted for the flight gave the immigrants a release form to sign as well as a packet of information including a map of Martha’s Vineyard. “So it was obvious that that’s where they were going, and they gave that to them,” he said.
The Daily Wire added:
Florida’s Voice reported Monday that they obtained one of the brochures that the illegal immigrants were given prior to heading to Martha’s Vineyard. The publication said that they confirmed the information with the governor’s office.
The brochure, which is written in both English and Spanish, is titled: “Massachusetts Refugee Benefits/Massachusetts Beneficios para Refugiados,” and includes pictures of Massachusetts.
The outlet said the brochure had information taken “directly from the Massachusetts government website.”
BREAKING: Florida's Voice has confirmed with Ron DeSantis' office the below brochure was given to migrants who were voluntarily flown to Martha's Vineyard
The brochure contains information directly from the Massachusetts government website pic.twitter.com/IPRO4UD4ad
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) September 19, 2022
Notably, Democratic leaders in blue cities have loudly complained about having to deal with migrants being sent to them by Republican governors in border states, though many of the same leaders have, in the past, stated their support for lax border policies that are currently inundating red states with record numbers of illegal border crossers.
