California Attorney General Rob Bonta is the guest of honor at a DPOC event tonight (we’re told its an overflow crowd and there’s a venue change, so contact the Party if you bought tickets). The event is closed to the press and I’ve donated my ticket to someone in OCYD so I won’t be going).
Bonta has aspirations for a run for Governor at some point, and my biggest question for him was actually answered over the weekend. Will the State of California investigate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott for illegally transporting undocument immigrants over state lines to California? It’s classic human trafficking as migrants are promised jobs, housing and legal assistance, so they agree to go but none of those promises is true. The New York Times reported that both Bonta and Governor Gavin Newsom have asked for a federal investigaton into the actions of Florida and Texas.
From the story:
In a letter that called the state-funded initiative an “ongoing scheme” that appeared to be driven by Florida’s Republican governor and based on deception, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California; the state’s attorney general, Rob Bonta; and the sheriff of Bexar County in Texas, Javier Salazar, asked for an examination of the Florida program for possible violations of federal law.
“It is unconscionable to use people as political props by persuading them to travel to another state based on false or deceptive representations,” the officials wrote in the letter to Merrick B. Garland, the U.S. attorney general.
While the Democratic leaders acknowledged that nongovernmental organizations and local officials have sent migrants from border states to other U.S. destinations, they argued that the Florida program was different because it deceived people by promising them jobs and shelter without providing such offerings. In Sacramento and Martha’s Vineyard, immigrants ended up on the doorsteps of local churches and religious organizations that were not expecting guests.
….
Legal analysts say that any civil or criminal prosecution could be difficult to pursue, and will probably turn on whether the migrants were misled into their relocations. Many of those who disembarked in California and Massachusetts were carrying documents indicating that they had agreed to be transported.
The Texas sheriff and the California authorities contended that federal officials should get involved because the Florida program had crossed state lines.
“Although separate investigations into potential violations of state laws remain active, the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) has a unique capability to investigate cases where, as here, the scheme stretches from Massachusetts to California,” the letter said.
So for those going tonight, time to quiz our AG on applicable state law to stop this mean-spirited and cruel campaign by DeSantis and Abbott.