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() — An investigation is underway after more than a dozen migrants arrived in Sacramento, California, on a private plane “without any prior arrangement or care,” Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta said Saturday.
California state officials met Saturday with the group, which had documentation “purporting to be from the state government of Florida,” Bonta said.
The migrants were flown from Texas to New Mexico, and then flown on a private chartered plane to California, where they were “abandoned at the door of a local church without any prior notice,” Newsom said in a statement.
The attorney general is investigating the incident and “assessing possible criminal or civil actions against those who transported or arranged the transport of these vulnerable migrants,” 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. The authorities did not specify which countries the immigrants came from.
has contacted state officials in Texas and Florida for comment.
It is not the first time that a plane with migrants arrives without prior notice in a Democratic state. Late last year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sent two planes carrying migrants to Martha’s Vineyard.
Amid the humanitarian crisis on the southern border of the United States, Republican governors and local officials in southern states have also bused migrants to New York and other more liberal cities.
Many of those heading to the United States make long and dangerous journeys in the hope of finding a better and safer life for their families. According to experts, people migrate to flee violence, in search of economic opportunities or to reunite with their families.
“California and the Sacramento community will welcome these individuals with open arms and offer them the respect, compassion and care they need after such a harrowing experience,” Bonta said.
The state works 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 they pursue their immigration cases,” Newsom said.
Bonta noted that the state “will continue to gather evidence, I want to say it very clearly: state-sanctioned kidnapping is not a public policy option, it is immoral and disgusting.”
