The request by Robert Galibois, a Democrat who was elected Cape and Islands District Attorney last year, comes a month after a similar request was made by California elected officials for migrant flights to Sacramento that were also organized by Florida government officials.
“Publicly reported information indicates that said enterprise was hatched in Florida, launched in Texas, briefly appeared in South Carolina and North Carolina, and concluded in Massachusetts on the island of Martha’s Vineyard,” Galibois writes.
The airlift of the mostly Venezuelan citizens from Texas to Massachusetts ignited a furious reaction by Florida Democrats, immigrant advocacy groups and members of Florida’s Hispanics after it was revealed nearly one year ago. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis proudly took credit for the flight, saying days after it occurred that “it’s better to go to a sanctuary jurisdiction — and yes, we will help facilitate that transport for you to be able to go to greener pastures.”
In his letter to Garland penned on Monday, Galibois writes that his office is aware after the September 2022 flight touched down in Martha’s Vineyard, interviews were conducted with most of the migrants in Spanish.
“My initial request is that the Department of Justice assist our office in obtaining certified translations and transcriptions of these interviews,” Galibois writes. “These interviews, coupled with other obtained evidence, would provide crucial support for my initial assessment as to whether further investigation warranted.”
In June, the Florida Department of Emergency Management took credit for another expedition of undocumented immigrants from Texas – that being the transporting of three dozen Latin American migrants to Sacramento on charter flights. DeSantis defended the fact that the flights were paid for by Florida taxpayers, saying that they were part of a “Voluntary Relocation” program.
On July 6, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta and Bexar County, Texas Sheriff Javier Salazar wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, calling on him to investigate those flights organized by Florida officials, writing that “according to news reports, recruiters deceived migrants into taking flights to these particular locations based on promises of jobs and shelter.”
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