SACRAMENT –
Gov. Gavin Newsom took his feud with Gov. Ron DeSantis to new heights on Monday, apparently threatening him with kidnapping charges after California officials said South American migrants were sent to Sacramento by the state of Florida as a political gimmick.
Newsom, a Democrat, cited state kidnapping laws in a tweet to the Florida governor and Republican presidential hopeful, whom he called a “pathetic little man.”
“This isn’t Martha’s Vineyard. Kidnapping charges?” Newsom said in the tweet, referencing DeSantis’ action last year to send a group of Venezuelan migrants to the wealthy liberal vacation spot of Massachusetts.
Sixteen migrants from Venezuela and Colombia were flown from Texas to New Mexico and flown on a chartered plane to Sacramento, where they were dropped off at a church on Friday, Newsom said.
A plane carrying 20 migrants arrived in Sacramento on Monday. Both groups were flown by the same contractor and carried documents indicating their transportation involved the state of Florida, according to California Department of Justice officials.
Newsom said his administration is working with the agency to “investigate the circumstances surrounding” who paid for the air travel, whether the migrants were misled and whether laws were violated, including kidnapping.
It is unclear what legal action the state plans to take. After Newsom tweeted the threat of kidnapping charges, his spokesperson deferred questions to Atty. Office of General Rob Bonta. Bonta said over the weekend that he was “evaluating possible criminal or civil action” but did not provide further details on Monday.
Representatives for DeSantis did not respond to written questions from The Times. His campaign press team, which is active on Twitter, made no mention of Newsom’s tweeted accusation, and DeSantis did not mention the incident in an appearance Monday morning on Fox News radio.
The question is whether Newsom will pursue legal action over the interstate transport of migrants or risk being accused of using the incident to stage his own version of political theater as the two governors jockey for national attention.
“It’s powerful for both bases, as most movements on immigration are,” said Mike Madrid, a GOP political consultant. “Republicans love DeSantis for that, and Democrats love the opportunity to show Democratic acceptance and tolerance.”
Newsom has been known to tweet strong political messages without a fully formed policy to back them up. Earlier this year, he declared that California was “Made” doing business with Walgreens after the drugstore chain said it wouldn’t distribute an abortion pill in some states, but its administration had to take it back because of federal law. “Twitter is not politics,” the Newsom aide said at the time.
In another case, as gas prices rose last year, Newsom took to Twitter to call for a new “windfall tax” on oil companies, telling Californians they’re “ripping you off” and that the plan would send money “directly” to you. But six months later, Newsom reneged on that demand and worked with the Legislature to pass a bill that increased oversight of the industry.
Last year, when DeSantis claimed responsibility for sending dozens of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Newsom wrote a letter to the IRS. General Merrick Garland – which he posted on Twitter – demanding a federal investigation. Asked about the status of that request, a Newsom spokesman referred questions to the Justice Department, which did not respond to an inquiry Monday.
Calvin Kia Abbasi, spokesman for PICO California, a faith-based non-profit organization that helps support migrants in Sacramento, said the state “should be straightened out” and benefit from due process of law.
“They were taken out of nowhere and dropped in the middle of the capital of California with nothing on their backs,” he said. “They deserve actions taken that serve their inherent dignity as people, and anything less would be an affront to their humanity.”
Affected migrants in California could join a federal lawsuit against DeSantis and Florida officials over the 2022 Martha’s Vineyard incident.
The pending demand, filed by Lawyers for Civil Rights, alleges that Florida officials, including DeSantis, chartered planes from Texas to Massachusetts as part of a scheme “to defraud vulnerable immigrants to advance a political cause.”
Oren Sellstrom, director of litigation for Lawyers for Civil Rights, said his organization has lawyers “on the ground now” in California who are investigating the latest orchestrated flight and whether it aligns with their lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of affected migrants in Massachusetts, accuses DeSantis and Florida officials of unlawful seizure, false arrest and fraud.
“There is certainly both civil and criminal exposure for any individual or private company that engages in this type of despicable conduct,” Sellstrom said. “The lasting impact of a stunt like this … people were traumatized when they realized they were being abandoned.”
This is not the first time this has happened in Sacramento, home of California’s Democratic leaders. Last year, eight Venezuelan migrants were flown from Texas to Sacramento with little cash and some without shoes.
Autumn Gonzalez, organizer of NorCal Resist, said these men remain in Sacramento and have been unable to secure a legal way to work. Her organization continues to provide them with housing, food and resources, as they do not qualify for state-provided social safety net services due to their immigration status.
“If more people come, they are welcome here. We’d love to have them,” he said. “We don’t think people should be used as political pawns and as some kind of statement on immigration. It’s just wrong.”
The Martha’s Vineyard flight garnered national attention and propelled DeSantis to the forefront of the immigration debate, along with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who last year transported migrants to Washington, D.C., home of Vice President Kamala Harris .
The conservative media was particularly captivated, said Howard Polskin, the author of Righting, a right-wing media watchdog newsletter.
This time, however, “it’s a ghost story,” Polskin said. “It has been ignored.”
The muted interest reflects how DeSantis is having a harder time dominating the political conversation on the right, after appearing on the rise heading into the 2022 election.
“With more candidates throwing their hat in the ring, there’s not as much attention focused on him,” Polskin said.
Last month, DeSantis signed a bill to strengthen the relocation program who financed the flight to Martha’s Vineyard. The legislation provided $12 million to relocate migrants, expanded requirements for companies to verify the legal status of workers and required hospitals that take Medicaid patients to ask questions about citizenship on admission forms, a measure that some immigrant rights advocates say could deter people living in the United States. illegally seeking care.
As Newsom has increasingly tried to shore up his credentials as a national Democratic figure, DeSantis has been one of his go-to roles.
He paid for a television ad in the Sunshine State that poured into DeSantis and urged residents to “join the fight or join us in California.” He challenged the governor of Florida to a televised debate. He traveled to DeSantis’ home to criticize efforts to reshape education in the state.
DeSantis also poked fun at Newsom, saying in a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley that the California governor seems “very concerned about what we’re doing in Florida” and that Americans have “voted with their feet” away from yes of the blue states.
Scott Jennings, a Republican consultant, noted that DeSantis has often had political success challenging the rule of liberal governors. He liked to contrast his governance during the COVID-19 pandemic with that of then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who later resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
DeSantis “kind of came into prominence in the party as a real fighter by being constantly compared to Cuomo,” Jennings said. “Now he’s gone, so the next best role is Newsom, who Republicans think is ridiculous.”
Although the survey showed migrant transport from Martha’s Vineyard didn’t particularly alter the dynamics of the 2022 midterm elections, stocks struck a chord with the GOP base. Sarah Longwell, a Republican strategist who conducts focus groups with voters around the country, said voters speak “unequivocally in positive terms” about DeSantis sending migrants to Martha’s Vineyard and cite it as one of the main reasons why they view it with approval.
For a while, DeSantis performed well in Longwell’s focus groups, the strategist said, but there has been a shift toward former President Trump, who has begun attacking the Florida governor.
The latest round of flights may give DeSantis another chance to capture the attention of primary voters.
“He’s trying to outdo MAGA Trump, who sometimes comes across as who may seem the toughest or the toughest on illegal immigration,” Longwell said.
