On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom took to Twitter to suggest charging Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with kidnapping for allegedly flying 16 illegal immigrants to Sacramento. Now, a new video is countering that hysterical narrative.
As RedState reported, the group of illegal immigrants originated in El Paso, having crossed the porous and chaotic Southern border recently. They then made their way to New Mexico where they boarded a plane that took them to California. Once there, they were connected with a Catholic charity that receives government funding to help take care of illegal immigrants.
Newsom, despite his past proclamations that his state is a “sanctuary state,” was incensed by the arrival of the illegal immigrants. In my initial write-up, I noted how odd his response was given he claims that migrants are a necessary part of California’s economy. Why the sudden angst?
Newsom’s charge of kidnapping was based on the idea that the illegal immigrants in question were somehow lied to and coerced into getting on the flight to Sacramento. To disprove that, Florida’s Division of Emergency Management released video evidence that those who boarded the plane signed waivers, verbally agreed, and were happy to go (The Daily Caller).
The Florida Division of Emergency Management (DOEM) released footage Tuesday appearing to show migrants signing consent forms and agreeing to fly to California, according to a video obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Through verbal and written consent, these volunteers indicated they wanted to go to California. A contractor was present and ensured they made it safely to a 3rd-party NGO. The specific NGO, Catholic Charities, is used and funded by the federal government,” the Florida DOEM told the DCNF.
Florida sent two migrant flights to Sacramento, one on Saturday and another on Monday, drawing backlash from Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom and an investigation from California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office, who accused DeSantis of potentially “kidnapping” the migrants.
Here is the video, which was posted on Rumble. Did Newsom really think DeSantis wouldn’t have his based covered?
As you can see, the illegal immigrants are seen smiling, signing waivers, and otherwise being fully aware of what’s going on. The DOEM also said those on the flight wanted to go to California, possibly because they had familial connections there.
In other words, there is no evidence that any laws were broken. It is not illegal to give volunteers a flight to another state, and certainly, there’s nothing immoral about it. It is long past time for self-proclaimed sanctuary jurisdictions to practice what they preach. If they feel illegal immigration is a positive good, then they should be ready to take care of those who cross illegally.