The Democratic governor of California, Gavin Newsom, threatened Monday, June 5, to sue his counterpart of Florida, Republican Ron DeSantis, for "kidnapping", after the arrival of two groups of migrants by private jet in the Californian capital Sacramento. Candidate for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election, Ron DeSantis has been leading for several months a policy of moving migrants to Democratic states, in protest against the immigration policy led by Democratic President Joe Biden.
The governor of Florida had claimed last September the transfer of 48 migrants by plane from Texas to the island of Martha's Vineyard, a popular holiday resort for American high society, located in Massachusetts (northeast). He subsequently signed into law legislation in February authorizing his administration to transfer illegal migrants to another state, including if they live outside Florida.
'Pathetic little man'
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Ron DeSantis, pathetic little man," Gavin Newsom tweeted. "This is not Martha's Vineyard. A kidnapping indictment?" he added, along with a screenshot of a California state law article regarding kidnapping. The state's attorney general, Rob Bonta, announced Saturday the opening of an investigation into the arrival of these migrants, saying they had papers "supposed to come from the government of Florida".
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We are exploring the possibility of taking criminal or civil legal action against those who transported or arranged the transport of these vulnerable migrants," he added. The first group of migrants, from Colombia and Venezuela, arrived on Friday, and the second group, mainly from Venezuela, landed on Monday, according to US media.
Asked by AFP, Ron DeSantis' team did not respond immediately. According to a judicial investigation, migrants who arrived in September at Martha's Vineyard were lured onto the plane by false promises of employment, the Miami Herald newspaper reported.
