Florida governor defends flying migrants to California as ‘American problem’

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has called for states to take more aggressive measures in immigration enforcement, while California officials continue to investigate potential criminal wrongdoing after Florida directed flights of migrants from Texas to Sacramento.

DeSantis, who recently announced his candidacy for president, made his first trip to the southwest border and described the use of Florida tax dollars to pay for migrant flights as helping Texas combat a border crisis. “We have an ability to do things, like support police and help out Texas because we have a well-managed state,” said DeSantis during an event in Sierra Vista, Arizona, which focused on his opposition to the Biden administration’s immigration policies.

He added, “This (money for migrant flights) is something that’s been in the budget now for two years. If a sheriff asked for our support in Texas, we do this as an American problem. We don’t do it just as a Texas problem, as we think we’re all in this together.”

A spokeswoman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management confirmed the state’s role in directing flights of migrants from El Paso to Sacramento, stating that the migrants volunteered to be relocated. However, California officials have launched investigations and used words such as “kidnapping” to describe the flights.

California Governor Gavin Newsom appeared on NBC’s “Today Show” and questioned DeSantis’ use of Florida tax dollars to move people like “pawns” after they were never in Florida. “We mean business,” said Newsom. “Ron DeSantis should know this. And everyone that’s been part of this, and they have more direct accountability and culpability, should know we mean business and we’re not backing away from getting the facts and holding those accountable if they broke the laws of the state of California.”

DeSantis said “sanctuary” communities should bear the impacts of migrants crossing the southwest border. “Sanctuary jurisdictions are part of the reason we have this problem, because they have endorsed and advocated for these types of open border policies,” said DeSantis.

In September, the DeSantis administration sparked controversy by flying migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. Attorneys representing some of the people sent now assert that the asylum seekers were “tricked” into going from Texas to Massachusetts. Lawyers representing those migrants said they traveled to California to assist the asylum seekers sent to Sacramento and found “many similarities to our Martha’s Vineyard clients.”

Florida lawmakers included $12 million in the current year’s state budget for the Department of Transportation to carry out a “program to facilitate the transport of unauthorized aliens from this state.” Lawmakers revamped the program in February, including putting it under the Division of Emergency Management. They included $12 million for migrant relocation in the budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which will start July 1.

DeSantis also said “states need to be more aggressive in some of the things that they’re doing. It’s one thing to say some things are a federal responsibility. But if they just completely abandon the field, then you don’t have any rule of law.”

The Arizona event was announced by the governor’s office as a “roundtable” discussion. Among the other participants were Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, and Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey. DeSantis is scheduled to make campaign stops in Texas and Oklahoma in the coming days.