SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office in Texas has requested criminal charges in connection to the nearly 50 undocumented migrants who were flown from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts last fall.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salzar opened an investigation into the incident in September when Florida paid contractors to fly migrants from the southern border to other areas of the U.S., as part of the state’s controversial migrant relocation program.
It's unclear who the sheriff is seeking charges against, but in a statement last fall, the sheriff’s office said, ”Only those who were physically in our jurisdiction at the time of the offense are considered suspects.”
Adding in an updated statement, the agency said, "The charge filed is Unlawful Restraint and several accounts were filed, both misdemeanor and felony."
Ultimately it's up to the local district attorney whether to pursue those charges, who released a statement Tuesday.
"The complaint will undergo our normal and meticulous intake review. The process of determining whether enough evidence exists to charge anyone with a crime and convince a jury of Bexar County citizens 'beyond a reasonable doubt' that a crime has been committed may be lengthy and labor-intensive under the best of circumstances," Bexar County Criminal District Attorney Joe D. Gonzales said in a statement.
"If a review of the facts reveal that a felony offense has been committed, we will present that case to a grand jury for their deliberation," Gonzales added.
This latest wrinkle comes as California officials accuse Florida and the Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration of sending more flights of migrants who were dropped off outside a Sacramento church.
About 20 people ranging in age from 21-30 were flown by private jet to Sacramento on Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said. It was the second such flight in four days.
Bonta says the migrants had documents that read they were transported through a program run by Florida’s Division of Emergency Management and carried out by a contractor, Vertol Systems Company, who was awarded a bid to execute the state program last fall.
The attorney general says the migrants had no prior arrangement or care in place, and they are investigating the circumstances by which these individuals were brought to California and are evaluating potential criminal or civil action against those who transported or arranged for the transport of these immigrants.
DeSantis just signed a bill a few weeks ago which provides $12 million to move migrants from anywhere in the US — not just Florida — to anywhere in the country.
10 Tampa Bay reached out to the governor’s office and the Department of Emergency Management for comment, and they have not yet responded. At a press conference Tuesday, the governor didn’t take questions from the press.