California lawmaker introduces resolution calling for criminal investigation of Ron DeSantis

An out California lawmaker has called for a criminal investigation into anti-LGBTQ+ Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s role in sending dozens of migrants to the state.

The Sacramento Bee reports that state Assemblymember Evan Low (D) introduced Assembly Concurrent Resolution 113 on Tuesday. The measure urges that DeSantis “be held accountable and investigated for the criminal nature of specified actions, and that the United States Department of Justice investigate the governor for Florida’s Unauthorized Alien Transport Program.”

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Some have questioned whether DeSantis was trying to buy an endorsement from the group’s influential leader.

I introduced California Assembly Resolution 113 calling for a criminal investigation into Florida Governor @RonDeSantis.#RonDeSantis https://t.co/cFTBvzzKga

— Evan Low (@Evan_Low) August 16, 2023 Get the Daily Brief The news you care about, reported on by the people who care about you.

The controversial program was established by Florida lawmakers earlier this year to fund the relocation of undocumented migrants from any state in the U.S. to “sanctuary cities” in blue states.

As Low’s bill notes, DeSantis’s office has confirmed that they were responsible for sending two planes carrying 36 migrants from Latin American countries from Texas to Sacramento in June.

“The arriving migrants have shared that the woman who initially approached them falsely promised that if they came on the flight to California they would be helped to find jobs,” the bill states. “These migrants, who did not know where they were when they arrived in the city of Sacramento, were ‘lied to and deceived.’”

The bill accuses DeSantis of exploiting “a vulnerable population and the high volume of people immigrating for his own political gain using false promises and deception” and notes that the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office in Texas has investigated a similar stunt in which DeSantis flew two planes carrying migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard last September.

As NBC News noted in February, opponents of the Florida program have compared it to human trafficking.

“All morally conscious Americans should be concerned that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his agents – using Florida tax dollars – illegally trafficked vulnerable migrants across state lines,” Low said in a statement. “To lie and deceive human beings just trying to survive and support their families in order to transport them unknowingly to California for the purpose of scoring cheap political points is unconscionable, and these inhumane and illegal actions should be swiftly investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Innocent people should not be used as pawns by immoral, power-hungry politicians like DeSantis.”