A rights group says 16 migrants were “lied to” and tricked after being taken from Texas to California and dumped outside a Sacramento church.
Migrants from Venezuela and Columbia entered the US through Texas, the Associated Press reported. They were flown to California from New Mexico by a private chartered plane, but it is unclear who paid for the trip.
The California department of justice and the California governor’s office are currently investigating who paid for the trip and “whether the individuals who orchestrated this trip misled anyone with false promises or violated the any criminal law, including kidnapping.”
Eddie Carmona, campaign director of PICO California, a faith-based community organizing group that helps migrants, said they are being processed by US customs and given court dates for hearings in asylum when individuals claiming to represent a private contractor approached them outside a migrant center in El Paso, Texas, with the promise of offering jobs and assistance.
“They were lied to and deliberately deceived,” Carmona told the AP, adding that the migrants had no idea where they were after being dropped off in Sacramento.
Last year, the Republican governors of Texas and Florida bused and flew immigrants without notice to cities controlled by Democratic party elected officials. The actions were criticized as political stunts to criticize the border policies of the Biden Administration. Florida governor Ron DeSantis has established a $12m migrant relocation program in 2022 funded from interest accrued on federal Covid-19 relief funds.