CNN
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An investigation is underway after more than a dozen migrants arrived in Sacramento, Calif., by private jet “without prior arrangements or vetting,” Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta said Saturday.
California officials met Saturday with the group, which had documentation “purporting to be from the Florida state government,” Bonta said.
The immigrants were flown from Texas to New Mexico, then flown on a privately chartered plane to California, where they were “taken to the door of a local church without any warning,” Newsom said in a statement.
The state attorney general is investigating the incident and “evaluating possible criminal or civil actions against those who transported or arranged for the transportation of these vulnerable immigrants,” Bonta said in a statement.
According to the governor, the circumstances surrounding who paid for the group’s trip and whether the migrants were deceived with false promises will be investigated.
CNN has reached out to state officials in Texas and Florida for comment.
A nonprofit group of local religious congregations says 16 migrants from Venezuela and Colombia were dropped off on a private plane at a Sacramento airport and taken by bus to the Diocese of Sacramento’s reception in California, where they were dropped off.
Sacramento Area Congregations Together (ACT) says it is helping the migrants, whose journey to Sacramento originated in El Paso, Texas. They were approached at a migrant center there “by people representing a private contractor who told them they would help them get to a migrant center that would provide them with free work and other supports.”
According to ACT, when the group was dropped off at the church offices they had no idea where they were and only had belongings in a backpack.
The migrants were processed at the border and have pending court appearances across the country, the nonprofit said in a statement.
“Being transported to California under false pretenses creates a disruption in his due process of law, as his appointments are across the country,” the nonprofit said.
“What has happened recently with the deceptive landing of our undocumented brothers and sisters in the Sacramento area breaks my heart,” the Rev. Efrem Smith, president of Sacramento ACT, said in a statement. “This act of political polarization is heartbreaking and yet I am glad to be a part of a movement that brings God’s love and goodwill to bear on the injustices and political evil that affect our vulnerable brothers and sisters.”
Rabbi Mona Alfi of Congregation B’nai Israel responded to the situation by saying, “Bringing people from one state to another under deception and political malice is a moral farce. These are human beings, no different than you or me, who simply want to take care of their families and live a quiet life, and deserve to be treated better.”
It is not the first time that a plane with migrants has arrived without warning in a democratic state. Late last year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sent two planes carrying migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
Republican governors and local officials in southern states have also flown migrants to New York and other more liberal cities amid a humanitarian crisis at the US southern border.
Many who make their way to the United States make long and dangerous journeys in hopes of finding a better and safer life for their families. People migrate to escape violence, for economic opportunities or to reunite with relatives, experts say.
“California and the Sacramento community will welcome these individuals with open arms and provide them with the respect, compassion and care they will need after such a heartbreaking experience,” Bonta said.
The state is working with the Sacramento mayor’s office and local groups to make sure migrants “are treated with respect and dignity and arrive at their intended destination while pursuing their immigration cases,” he said. Newsom.
Bonta said the state “will continue to gather evidence, I want to say this very clearly: State-sanctioned kidnapping is not a public policy option, it is immoral and disgusting.
