California officials launched an investigation Saturday after more than a dozen immigrants were flown into Sacramento on a mysterious private jet and “dumped on the doorstep of a local church without prior warning.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta met with the group on Saturday and they had documents “purportedly from the Florida government,” Bonta said in a release.
Bonta said the group traveled from Texas to New Mexico and then to California on a private jet, “without any prior arrangements or considerations.”
Authorities are conducting an investigation and “evaluating potential criminal or civil proceedings against those who transported or arranged for transport of these vulnerable migrants,” the statement said.
“We will work with the Mayor’s Office of Sacramento and our local and nonprofit partners to ensure that those who arrive are treated with respect and dignity and arrive at their intended destinations for immigration,” Newsom said in a separate statement. rice field. Case. “
“My administration is also working with the California Department of Justice to determine who paid for this group’s travel and whether those who orchestrated this trip misled anyone with false promises or violated criminal law, including kidnapping. We are looking into the situation to see if they are doing so,” Newsom said.
Authorities did not disclose the countries of origin of the migrants.
“The state of California and the Sacramento community will welcome these people with open arms and offer them the respect, compassion and care they need after such a tragic experience,” Bonta said.
“State-sanctioned kidnapping is not a public policy choice, it is an immoral and abominable practice,” Bonta said, adding that the investigation would continue.
“We are a nation built by immigrants, a country filled with cruelty and hatred of people, whether national leaders or private parties, who refuse to recognize their humanity and turn their backs on the dignity and care of their fellow citizens. I have to condemn his remarks,” Bonta said.
“California and the Sacramento community will welcome these people with open arms and provide them with the respect, compassion and care they need after such a tragic experience.”
The incident occurred as immigrants sent by Republican governors arrived unannounced in Democratic states. New York City is in a state of panic, with over 45,000 asylum seekers being held in various shelters across the city.
Two immigrants died of an apparent overdose outside a giant immigrant shelter in Brooklyn on Friday. Police said the shelter was a six-story commercial building that opened in March to address the migrant crisis.
