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Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images and Sean Rayford/Getty Images
A second flight carrying about 20 migrants landed in Sacramento on Monday.
Another plane arrived last weekend.
Officials suspect Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is behind it.
A second plane carrying about 20 migrants landed in Sacramento, California, on Monday, and the people involved were carrying paperwork connecting them to Florida, the California attorney general’s office said.
Special agents from the California Department of Justice were on the scene with the migrants at the airport, representatives from the office told Insider.
Monday’s revelation comes after 16 migrants from Venezuela and Colombia arrived by plane on Friday and were dropped off in a Catholic church. All the migrants carried paperwork linked to the Florida emergency department, as well as contractor Vertol Systems Company, who arranged the trip.
Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who is also a 2024 presidential candidate, has yet to speak publicly on the issue. His office did not respond to a series of questions from Insider, but in September the governor acknowledged that his administration orchestrated another plane carrying 49 migrants from San Antonio, Texas, to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
DeSantis frequently brags about the Martha’s Vineyard stunt in speeches, including on the 2024 presidential campaign trail.
It’s just one of the surprise announcements DeSantis made many times during his first term in office. These announcements are generating significant backlash, generating publicity, making national headlines and making liberals cook – all the while endearing himself to conservatives. He used the playbook during the 2022 campaign, where he beat his Democratic challenger, former Representative Charlie Crist, by nearly 20 points.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom suggested on Twitter that investigators considered kidnapping charges under the state laws and called DeSantis a “little, pathetic man.”
He and California Attorney General Rob Bonta have already said they believe DeSantis is responsible for the flights. Speaking to CNN on Sunday, Bonta accused DeSantis of displaying “pettyness, lack of substance,” as well as “xenophobia,” “discrimination and racism.”
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Asked to weigh in on Monday, before news of the second flight was made public, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the practice of moving migrants “dangerous and unacceptable.”
“You’re putting a lot of pressure on these state and local areas,” she said at a news conference.
A Florida emergency department representative confirmed that the office had not released a statement about the flights, but did not respond to a list of questions from Insider.
If DeSantis is behind the latest flight, that would mean he’s aiming directly at Newsom, who has criticized DeSantis’ policies and whose government is centered in the state’s capital, Sacramento. Newsom is considered a rising star in the Democratic Party, perhaps even a presidential candidate one day, but has said he fully supports President Joe Biden’s re-election bid.
In an interview with Insiders in April, Newsom called DeSantis’ actions on numerous cases, including immigration, “performative” and “deeply destructive.”
DeSantis will be heading to Sacramento on June 19 for a fundraiser. according to the Sacramento Bee. The governor has accused places that say they support illegal immigration of being hypocritical on the issue, arguing that the virtue of blue states points to undocumented migration, while border states are taking on the vast majority of aid and are overwhelmed.
In recent weeks, DeSantis extensive restrictions on undocumented workers in Florida and assigned $12 million for migrant relocation programs. DeSantis drafted the policy as a direct response to Biden’s immigration policies, saying the president “turned a blind eye” to the issue.
DeSantis has promised that, if elected president, he will continue to build a border wall between the US and Mexico and reintroduce the “stay in Mexico” policy, which requires migrants to wait across the border until their asylum cases are processed. can be treated.
DeSantis is President Donald Trump’s biggest rival for 2024 nominations, whose hardline, anti-immigration rhetoric and actions whipped up his base and led to numerous lawsuits and public backlash.
Read the original article Business Insider
