A Massachusetts district attorney representing Martha's Vineyard sent a letter to Merrick Garland on Monday, asking the attorney general to investigate the 2022 migrant flight orchestrated by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
In the letter, Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois, a Democrat, urged Garland to open a federal investigation into the transport of 49 immigrants from Texas to the Massachusetts island.
Galibois, who assumed office a few months after the immigrant landing, is accusing DeSantis of inveiglement – deceiving the "asylum seekers" into boarding the flight and making the trip.
"Subsequent reporting and public statements also indicate that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration planned, initiated, funded with taxpayer monies, and executed this enterprise," Galibois wrote.
Considering the plan was "hatched in Florida and "launched in Texas," and included stops in North Carolina and South Carolina before concluding in Martha's Vineyard, Galibois said that makes the case "available for federal prosecution."
The DA is also asking for help from the DOJ to transcribe the interviews with the immigrants, from Spanish to English.
Galibois' letter comes mere days before DeSantis visits Cotuit, Mass., to attend a $3,300-per-person fundraiser. The Saturday fundraiser is a ferry ride from Joint Base Cape Cod, where the immigrants were taken to be housed after landing on Martha's Vineyard. They also were provided with free legal services there.
DeSantis has not shied away from the migrant flight. In fact, taking credit for it has become part of his platform while stumping for president.
In his letter to Garland, Galibois referenced similar pleas from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar, as well as the California AG.
"As elected law enforcement and public officials from California to Texas have noted, 'It is unconscionable to use people as political props by persuading them to travel to another state based on false or deceptive representations.'"
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