sacramento, california – Authorities said Tuesday that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took asylum seekers on board at the Texas border as faith-based groups scrambled for housing and food, apparently leaving California without their knowledge. They were investigating if he was behind the plane that flew to the capital. for them.

About 20 people between the ages of 21 and 30 were flown to Sacramento on a private jet Monday, according to California Attorney General Rob Bonta. It was the second such flight in four days.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and faith groups that have helped immigrants scheduled a press conference Tuesday morning.

Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom lashed out at DeSantis as a “poor little man” and suggested the state could pursue him on kidnapping charges.

Mr. DeSantis and other Florida officials remained tight-lipped last year when they lured 49 Venezuelan immigrants to the luxury Martha’s Vineyard enclave in Massachusetts and onto private jets from their San Antonio shelters. rice field.

who is desantis Aiming for the Republican nomination The presidential hopeful has been an outspoken critic of federal immigration policy under President Joe Biden, and has made great strides in Florida’s role in transferring immigrants to Democratic-led states in the past. have advertised.

he made Immigration Relocation Program One of his signature political priorities is to use the state legislative process to channel millions of dollars to work with multiple contractors to carry out the flights. Vertle Systems, Inc.Bonta said the airline paid by Florida to transport migrants to Martha’s Vineyard appeared to be behind flights to Sacramento on Monday and last Friday, arguing that the migrants were “flying in Florida.” He added that he was carrying “official documents from company. The company did not respond to an email seeking comment.

More than 30 migrants arrived in Sacramento on flights last Friday and Monday. Most of them are from Colombia and Venezuela. Officials said California was not their destination, to the surprise of shelters and aid workers.

Friday’s party was dropped off at the parish headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church in Sacramento. Eddie Carmona, campaign director for PICO California, a faith-based group that helps immigrants in Sacramento, said U.S. immigration officials had already processed the immigrants in Texas and given them a court date for the asylum case, and no one had been able to file them. He said he had no plans to go to California.

Asylum seekers can change the location of their court appearances, but many are reluctant to try, preferring to stick to definite dates, at least for their first court appearance. They see it as a guarantee, even if it’s a huge inconvenience.

Republican governors of Texas and Arizona previously sent thousands of immigrants Buses to New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. are in service, but a rare charter flight by DeSantis shows an escalation of tactics. The two groups sent to Sacramento did not go through Florida. Instead, they were contacted by people in El Paso with Florida-related documents, sent to New Mexico, and then chartered to the California capital, California officials and supporters said.

Bonta, who met with some of the migrants who arrived on Friday, said he was approached by two women who spoke broken Spanish and were offered jobs. The women traveled overland from El Paso to Deming, New Mexico, from where two men accompanied them on a flight to Sacramento. Bonta said the same men were on Monday’s flight.

“When we see other state and Florida leaders and governments, Governor Ron DeSantis, brutal, inhumane, morally bankrupt, despicable, small, harmful and harmful to vulnerable asylum-seekers. It makes your blood boil,” Bonta said. interview on Monday.

Some of the migrants who arrived on Friday met Bonta on their nearly three-month journey to the United States, and banded together to keep each other safe while sleeping on the streets in several countries. He said he had decided.

After the migrants arrived in California on Monday, the Texas sheriff’s office announced it had recommended criminal charges in the case. 2 flights to Martha’s Vineyard last year.

Bexar County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Johnny Garcia said he had not named a suspect at this time. The sheriff’s office said it was unclear whether the local district attorney would pursue charges such as misdemeanors and the felony of wrongful detention.

The office of New Mexico Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has not provided details as to why the migrants were taken from Texas to New Mexico and then flown to California.

“Governor. Mr. Lujan Grisham reiterated the urgent need for comprehensive and thoughtful federal immigration reform rooted in a humanitarian response with communities in the border areas in mind,” said Governor Spokesperson Caroline Grisham. Sweeney said on Monday.

Last year, Mr. DeSantis directed Republican lawmakers in Florida to create a program specifically for immigrant migration within his office. It specified that states could transport immigrants from anywhere in the country. The law was enacted to avoid questions about the legality of transporting people on planes originating from Texas.

The alleged involvement of the state of Florida in the arrival of the two groups in Sacramento is sure to escalate the case further. Political feud between DeSantis and NewsomThey have offered conflicting visions on immigration, abortion and many other issues. ___

Rodriguez reported from San Francisco. Contributed by Associated Press reporter Anthony Izaguirre of Tallahassee, Florida; Paul J. Weber of Austin, Texas; Susan Montoya Bryan of Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Elliot Spagat of San Diego.

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See more AP coverage on immigration: https://apnews.com/hub/immigration