Sixteen migrants from Venezuela and Colombia were taken from El Paso, Texas, to New Mexico, and then flown by private chartered plane to Sacramento where they were left on the doorstep of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Saturday that he and Attorney General Rob Bonta met with the migrants, and that he is working with Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s office as well as area nonprofits “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,” Newsom said.

Steinberg likened the act to human smuggling. “Whoever is behind this must answer the following: Is there anything more cruel than using scared human beings to score cheap political points?” Steinberg said in a statement. “Sacramento represents the best of American values. We always welcome ‘the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses,’ and we always will.” Sacramento ACT, a collaboration of area religious congregations, said in a statement that after being processed at the border, the migrants were approached by “individuals representing a private contractor” who said they would assist them with getting to a migrant center where they would find jobs and free support.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, both Republicans, have in the past taken credit for busing or flying migrants to various places in the U.S., including New York, Martha’s Vineyard and Washington, D.C. The Sacramento Bee has reached out to both governors’ offices to inquire whether one of them was responsible for this most recent flight. DeSantis, who announced his 2024 presidential bid last month and has been heavily criticized for his hardline stance on immigration, is expected to come to Sacramento himself on June 19 for a fundraising breakfast priced at $3,300 a seat. Newsom has spoken out — and aired ads in Florida — against DeSantis, whom he labeled “America’s chief bully,” since they were both elected in 2018.

More than a dozen migrants from South America who were recently flown on a chartered jet from New Mexico and dropped off in Sacramento were carrying documents indicating that their transportation was arranged by the state of Florida, California’s attorney general said Sunday. The documents appear to show that the flight was arranged through the Florida Division of Emergency Management and that it was part of the state’s program to relocate migrants, mostly from Texas, to other states, Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said. The contractor for the program is Vertol Systems Co., which coordinated similar flights that took dozens of Venezuelan asylum seekers from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts last year, he said. State officials did not publicly release the documents. And as of Sunday, there were many unanswered questions, including how the flights were arranged.

Bonta’s office is investigating, he confirmed. He said his office would be “evaluating potential criminal or civil action against those who transported or arranged for the transport of these vulnerable immigrants.” Bonta said Sunday the migrants — most of them from Venezuela — told officials that they were promised jobs and that someone would assist them in finding work. Instead, the group was dropped off at the Catholic diocese. When someone at the diocese opened the door, two men said they would return but instead drove off, leaving the group of migrants behind, Bonta said. “They never intended to help them find a job but told them that they would do that so they could get on the plane and sign their documents and be transported to Sacramento,” Bonta said. “They completely exploited, abused and manipulated these folks who were vulnerable and were hoping and dreaming of a job and told they would be helped finding that job only to be abandoned.” Bonta said the migrants are receiving legal aid services as some of them have immigration court dates in the coming days. Some of the court dates are as far as New York and Chicago. “They’re nowhere near Sacramento,” he said.

The situation in Sacramento is playing out against a backdrop of intense national debate over how to handle the influx of migrants who enter the U.S. across the Mexican border each year. That debate has come to a head in response to similar efforts championed and supported by Republican governors such as Greg Abbott of Texas and DeSantis that have displaced thousands of migrants and generated widespread controversy in recent years. In September, Abbott bused about 100 migrants to Washington, D.C., where they were dropped off outside the Naval Observatory, the home of Vice President Kamala Harris. That same month, DeSantis — who is now a top contender for the GOP presidential nomination — sent a group of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, a wealthy liberal haven off the coast of Massachusetts. Also last year, eight Venezuelan migrants were flown from Texas to Sacramento. Activists said that move was not part of Abbott’s or DeSantis’ efforts.

highdesert wrote: Mon Jun 05, 2023 8:26 am

More than a dozen migrants from South America who were recently flown on a chartered jet from New Mexico and dropped off in Sacramento were carrying documents indicating that their transportation was arranged by the state of Florida, California’s attorney general said Sunday. The documents appear to show that the flight was arranged through the Florida Division of Emergency Management and that it was part of the state’s program to relocate migrants, mostly from Texas, to other states, Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said. The contractor for the program is Vertol Systems Co., which coordinated similar flights that took dozens of Venezuelan asylum seekers from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts last year, he said. State officials did not publicly release the documents. And as of Sunday, there were many unanswered questions, including how the flights were arranged.

Bonta’s office is investigating, he confirmed. He said his office would be “evaluating potential criminal or civil action against those who transported or arranged for the transport of these vulnerable immigrants.” Bonta said Sunday the migrants — most of them from Venezuela — told officials that they were promised jobs and that someone would assist them in finding work. Instead, the group was dropped off at the Catholic diocese. When someone at the diocese opened the door, two men said they would return but instead drove off, leaving the group of migrants behind, Bonta said. “They never intended to help them find a job but told them that they would do that so they could get on the plane and sign their documents and be transported to Sacramento,” Bonta said. “They completely exploited, abused and manipulated these folks who were vulnerable and were hoping and dreaming of a job and told they would be helped finding that job only to be abandoned.” Bonta said the migrants are receiving legal aid services as some of them have immigration court dates in the coming days. Some of the court dates are as far as New York and Chicago. “They’re nowhere near Sacramento,” he said.

The situation in Sacramento is playing out against a backdrop of intense national debate over how to handle the influx of migrants who enter the U.S. across the Mexican border each year. That debate has come to a head in response to similar efforts championed and supported by Republican governors such as Greg Abbott of Texas and DeSantis that have displaced thousands of migrants and generated widespread controversy in recent years. In September, Abbott bused about 100 migrants to Washington, D.C., where they were dropped off outside the Naval Observatory, the home of Vice President Kamala Harris. That same month, DeSantis — who is now a top contender for the GOP presidential nomination — sent a group of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, a wealthy liberal haven off the coast of Massachusetts. Also last year, eight Venezuelan migrants were flown from Texas to Sacramento. Activists said that move was not part of Abbott’s or DeSantis’ efforts.

https://www.latimes.com/california/stor ... to-diocese
https://archive.fo/uIRtP

The culture wars continue and innocent people get hurt like migrants and the transgendered. This will go on at least until the end of 2024, maybe longer.

sikacz wrote: Mon Jun 05, 2023 4:12 pm

highdesert wrote: Mon Jun 05, 2023 8:26 am

More than a dozen migrants from South America who were recently flown on a chartered jet from New Mexico and dropped off in Sacramento were carrying documents indicating that their transportation was arranged by the state of Florida, California’s attorney general said Sunday. The documents appear to show that the flight was arranged through the Florida Division of Emergency Management and that it was part of the state’s program to relocate migrants, mostly from Texas, to other states, Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said. The contractor for the program is Vertol Systems Co., which coordinated similar flights that took dozens of Venezuelan asylum seekers from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts last year, he said. State officials did not publicly release the documents. And as of Sunday, there were many unanswered questions, including how the flights were arranged.

Bonta’s office is investigating, he confirmed. He said his office would be “evaluating potential criminal or civil action against those who transported or arranged for the transport of these vulnerable immigrants.” Bonta said Sunday the migrants — most of them from Venezuela — told officials that they were promised jobs and that someone would assist them in finding work. Instead, the group was dropped off at the Catholic diocese. When someone at the diocese opened the door, two men said they would return but instead drove off, leaving the group of migrants behind, Bonta said. “They never intended to help them find a job but told them that they would do that so they could get on the plane and sign their documents and be transported to Sacramento,” Bonta said. “They completely exploited, abused and manipulated these folks who were vulnerable and were hoping and dreaming of a job and told they would be helped finding that job only to be abandoned.” Bonta said the migrants are receiving legal aid services as some of them have immigration court dates in the coming days. Some of the court dates are as far as New York and Chicago. “They’re nowhere near Sacramento,” he said.

The situation in Sacramento is playing out against a backdrop of intense national debate over how to handle the influx of migrants who enter the U.S. across the Mexican border each year. That debate has come to a head in response to similar efforts championed and supported by Republican governors such as Greg Abbott of Texas and DeSantis that have displaced thousands of migrants and generated widespread controversy in recent years. In September, Abbott bused about 100 migrants to Washington, D.C., where they were dropped off outside the Naval Observatory, the home of Vice President Kamala Harris. That same month, DeSantis — who is now a top contender for the GOP presidential nomination — sent a group of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, a wealthy liberal haven off the coast of Massachusetts. Also last year, eight Venezuelan migrants were flown from Texas to Sacramento. Activists said that move was not part of Abbott’s or DeSantis’ efforts.

https://www.latimes.com/california/stor ... to-diocese
https://archive.fo/uIRtP

The culture wars continue and innocent people get hurt like migrants and the transgendered. This will go on at least until the end of 2024, maybe longer.

Longer is my guess. I’m waiting for the dems to show me differently, but I’m not seeing real commitment. Commitment means action that is visible and concrete now, not after 2024. What excuses will be used after 2024..

Another plane with migrants onboard arrived at a Sacramento airport on Monday, days after a flight carrying South American migrants landed in the state capital, officials said. Florida authorities appear to have been involved in sending the migrants to California based on documents carried by the travelers on both flights, State Attorney General Rob Bonta's office said to KTVU. State officials confirmed to KCRA there were about 20 migrants on board, and the Department of Justice has made contact with them.

The second flight arrived at Sacramento Executive Airport Monday afternoon from El Paso, Texas. The plane arrived days after 16 migrants from Colombia and Venezuela were dropped off outside a Sacramento church, under false promises of finding work. They had apparently been flown from New Mexico to California. Bonta said the groups' transportation to California was orchestrated by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. "While this is still under investigation, we can confirm these individuals were in possession of documentation purporting to be from the government of the State of Florida," Bonta said in a statement late Saturday.

The documents said the migrants were transported through a program run by Florida’s Division of Emergency Management and carried out by contractor Vertol Systems Co., said Tara Gallegos, a spokesperson for Bonta. They entered the U.S. through Texas. They were transported to New Mexico and then flown by a charter plane to California’s capital, where they were then dropped off in front of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, California officials said. They were approached outside a migrant center in El Paso, Texas, by people who offered them jobs and travel assistance, said Eddie Carmona of PICO California, a faith-based group helping the migrants. They did not know they were being taken to Sacramento and arrived with few belongings, he said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom took his feud with Gov. Ron DeSantis to new heights on Monday, seemingly threatening him with kidnapping charges after California officials say South American migrants were sent to Sacramento by the state of Florida as a political stunt. Newsom, a Democrat, cited state kidnapping laws in a tweet to the Florida governor and Republican presidential hopeful, whom he called a “small, pathetic man.” “This isn’t Martha’s Vineyard. Kidnapping charges?” Newsom said in the tweet, referencing DeSantis’ action last year to send a group of Venezuelan migrants to the wealthy liberal vacation spot in Massachusetts.

DeSantis representatives did not respond to written questions from The Times. His campaign press team, which is active on Twitter, made no mention of Newsom’s tweeted accusation, and DeSantis did not mention the incident on a Monday morning appearance on Fox News radio.

The question is whether Newsom will follow through with legal action over the interstate transportation of migrants or risk being accused of using the incident to stage his own version of political theater as the two governors jockey for national attention. “It’s potent to both bases — as most moves on immigration are,” said Mike Madrid, a GOP political consultant. “Republicans love DeSantis for this, and Democrats love the opportunity to showcase Democratic acceptance and tolerance.”