Florida: Ron DeSantis Dishes on US Migrant Crisis After Newsom Criticism

After receiving waves of criticism for sending flights of migrants to California and feuding with Gavin Newsom, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finally broke his silence and also took a shot at the California governor.

During a campaign stop in Arizona, DeSantis blamed sanctuary cities. Almost five days after that first flight, DeSantis weighed in on the transports after he was asked about it in Arizona.

"These sanctuary jurisdictions are part of the reason we have this problem because they have endorsed and agitated for these types of open border policies," he said. "They have bragged they are sanctuary jurisdictions. They attack the previous admin efforts to try to have border security ... When they have to deal with some of the fruits of that they all of a sudden become very, very upset about that."

However, it had been fact-checked several times that the Biden administration does not have open border policies as DeSantis has claimed. During his Arizona campaign stop, the Florida governor also stated that the controversial policy had been "debated" and also "vetted" by Florida legislators who had agreed to fund the sending of migrants to Democrat-held cities using taxpayer money, according to Politico.

Now, Florida officials might face some legal consequences as Bexar County, Texas is filing a criminal case against them, and Gavin Newsom and California might do the same, threatening DeSantis with kidnapping charges.

While the migrants came willingly, they were all led with false promises of jobs and opportunities before getting shipped off to Sacramento and Martha's Vineyard to fend for themselves. Many legal experts agree that the fraudulent means of getting migrants to agree to be sent is the illegal part.

Investigations in Texas and California into Ron DeSantis Migrant Stunts

California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar are leading investigations into DeSantis's possibly illegal actions, with Sheriff Salazar already recommending criminal charges as the migrants were lured into taking the flights under false pretenses.

Charges have been made in Texas, though no names of who were charged have been released yet. As for AG Bonta, he told The Hill, "I think deception is a key part of what's happened here."

The California AG also added that he is "glad the state of Florida is accepting blame for what they've done." He then stated that Florida really has no choice as all the evidence is pointing to them, as well as the DeSantis administration having a budget of $10 [million] to $12 million for these flights.

Ron DeSantis Fact-Checked for Claiming Martha's Vineyard Migrants Were Deported

Back in March, during a speech in Iowa when he was still hinting at running for the presidency, Ron DeSantis claimed that the Martha's Vineyard migrants were all deported.

"We even were able to deliver 50 illegal aliens to beautiful Martha's Vineyard. They said they were a sanctuary area. They had signs saying nobody is illegal. They said all the refugees and the illegals are welcome and then they deported them the next day. Are you kidding me?" He said.

However, Factcheck.org pointed out that the migrants were not deported, but relocated. The migrants were sent from an emergency shelter at Joint Base Cape Cod and were sent to long-term housing. Two of them then went to New York while others transferred to other towns and cities in Massachusetts. Four of the migrants are now living in Martha's Vineyard again and are being taken care of by a local family.

The nearly 50 Venezuelan migrants that DeSantis sent to Martha's Vineyard may be victims of a crime, which meant that they cannot be deported.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Newsom slams DeSantis over migrant drop-off: 'You small, pathetic man' - ABC7 News Bay Area