Attorney General Bonta Requests More Info & Materials From Florida Over Migrant Flights

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on Thursday that he sent a request to authorities in Florida for more information and materials surrounding the migrant flights to Sacramento that occurred earlier this month.

On June 2nd, 16 illegal immigrants in El Paso were driven to an airport in New Mexico, flown to Sacramento, then dropped off at a Sacramento Roman Catholic Diocese building. Attorney General Rob Bonta immediately set up an investigation, finding links between Florida and the flight contractor, who the state had previously used last year for migrant flights to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. A second migrant flight arrived on the 5th, prompting Governor Gavin Newsom to call out Florida and Governor DeSantis in a tweet once definitive evidence was found, despite California being a sanctuary state, even threatening kidnapping charges against his Floridian rival.

“Ron DeSantis you small, pathetic man,” Newsom tweeted that Monday. “This isn’t Martha’s Vineyard. Kidnapping charges? Read the following.”

.@RonDeSantis you small, pathetic man.

This isn't Martha's Vineyard.

Kidnapping charges?

Read the following. https://t.co/kvuxe8Fb6F pic.twitter.com/KyE1lJiIYo

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 5, 2023

With pressure mounting, both the Florida Division of Emergency Management and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed the state’s involvement with the flight last week. In a direct response to allegations of kidnapping, officials from Florida showed video proof that the migrants voluntarily agreed to go, and show them dancing and celebrating on the flights.

“Through verbal and written consent, these volunteers indicated they wanted to go to California,” said the Florida Division of Emergency Management on Tuesday in a statement. “As you can see from this video, Florida’s voluntary relocation is precisely that — voluntary. State-sanctioned kidnapping is not a public policy choice, it is immoral and disgusting. From left-leaning mayors in El Paso, Texas, and Denver, Colorado, the relocation of those illegally crossing the United States border is not new. But suddenly, when Florida sends illegal aliens to a sanctuary city, it’s false imprisonment and kidnapping.”

However, Bonta and other Californian officials quickly challenged the voluntary nature of it, saying that the videos were heavily edited to fit Florida’s narrative. For the last week, Californian officials have been investigating the case with the information they have found. However, the edited video has been a thorn in the side of the state, as California has not released all the footage, and has kept other things, such as documents and communications relating to the flights, away from the state. With the investigation starting to sputter, as well questions starting to come about Texas sending migrants to California in a bus this week, Bonta requested to both Governor DeSantis and the Division of Emergency Management for more information on Wednesday and Thursday.

“More on the California Department of Justice’s request for information from Florida. We’re seeking videos, documents, communications between officials, and more to inform our investigation into the transportation of asylum seekers to Sacramento,” Tweeted Bonta on Wednesday.

More on the California Department of Justice’s request for information from Florida. 
 
We’re seeking videos, documents, communications between officials, and more to inform our investigation into the transportation of asylum seekers to Sacramento. pic.twitter.com/pVZ35yTfZo

— Rob Bonta (@AGRobBonta) June 15, 2023

Bonta later added that “Florida released a highly edited and highly produced video a number of days after the flights. We believe they have other footage of the asylum seekers that they have not put in their glossy, highly produced video. And we want those. We also want all the documents and communications that talk about what this transportation program is, why the individuals were transported, what they were told, promised, what was represented.”

As of Thursday afternoon, neither DeSantis or the Division of Emergency Management has responded to the request, with experts saying that it might take more than just a request to get them.

“Florida is going to drag things out,” explained immigration lawyer Raul Calderon to the Globe on Thursday. “Hence those nice letters. As we’ve seen here in California, Bonta often chooses the legal option path, and the fact that he isn’t with Florida shows that he doesn’t have much of a case. If he really wants those documents, he needs to play hardball. They are public records, but Florida can drag their feet and bury it in red tape. Bonta is doing things by the book, but if he wants quicker results, he needs to ratchet it up, but he is not.”