CNN –
A Texas sheriff said Monday evening that his agency will open an investigation into the transportation of 48 Venezuelan migrants from the state to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar, a Democrat, told reporters at a press conference Monday that it was his understanding that a Venezuelan migrant was paid a “bird dog fee” on Wednesday to recruit 50 migrants from ‘a resource center in San Antonio.
The sheriff said he believes not only were laws broken in Bexar County by transporting nearly 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, but parallel laws were broken on the federal side as well.
Listen to the Venezuelan migrant sent to Martha’s Vineyard
A total of 48 migrants were “lured” to a hotel where they stayed for two days, according to Salazar.
The migrants were flown to Florida and then transported to Martha’s Vineyard under “false pretenses,” he said.
The sheriff said they were flown to Martha’s Vineyard for “a photo shoot and got stuck.” He believes the migrants were “exploited and tricked” into making the journey for political positions.
The sheriff has been talking to a lawyer representing some of the migrants for first-hand accounts of what happened, Salazar told reporters.
The allegations he has heard so far are “disgusting and a violation of human rights,” he said.
Salazar said he believes there needs to be accountability for what happened.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has claimed credit for bringing migrants to Martha’s Vineyard. In an interview with Fox News Monday night, DeSantis defended his decision.
“They all signed consent forms to go and then the vendor that does it for Florida provided them with a packet that had a map of Martha’s Vineyard, it has the number of the different services that are on Martha’s Vineyard,” DeSantis said.
“Why wouldn’t they want to go, considering where they were? They were in very, very bad shape and they have to be cleaned, everything, treated well,” he added.
When previously asked about the investigation, DeSantis spokeswoman Taryn Fenske gave CNN the following statement: “Immigrants have been more than willing to leave Bexar County after being abandoned, homeless and “they were left to themselves.”
“Florida gave them an opportunity to seek greener pastures in a sanctuary jurisdiction that offered them more resources, as we had hoped. Unless the MA national guard has abandoned these people, they have been provided housing, sustenance, clothing and more options to succeed after their unfair pull into the US, unlike the 53 immigrants who died in a truck found abandoned in Bexar County this June. ”
Lawyers for many of the migrants said on Monday that the brochures given to their clients were “very misleading” and “used to lure (their) clients into traveling under the guise that they had (resettlement) assistance.”
The brochure lists services for refugees, including cash and housing assistance, clothing, transportation to job interviews, job training and assistance enrolling children in school, among other resources.
A Venezuelan migrant, who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity for fear of negative impacts on his immigration case, shared images of the flyer. They said the migrants were told the brochure had information about help they would receive in Massachusetts, but were not told the differences between refugee and asylum seeker programs.
Migrants are, in many cases, asylum seekers, not refugees. Refugees apply for protection abroad and are admitted through the refugee admissions program, while asylum seekers apply in the United States.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has opened an investigation into migrants who were lured from the Migrant Resource Center, located in Bexar County, TX, and transported to Florida, where they were eventually dropped off for themselves in Martha’s Vineyard, MA.
— Bexar County Sheriff’s Office (@BexarCoSheriff) September 19, 2022
Salazar told reporters he will work with federal agencies and appreciates the White House’s assistance.
“Absolutely, some parts of this case will have to be federal, and there will have to be some coordination that goes with that,” he said. “So, absolutely, I would welcome the White House or anybody else on the federal side to call us and help us in whatever way they can,” he said.
President Joe Biden met with members of his administration on Friday to discuss immigration issues.
A White House official said the meeting was planned before Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent two busloads of migrants to Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence in Washington on Thursday and DeSantis sent two planes carrying migrants on Martha’s Vineyard.
Biden has accused Republicans of “playing politics with human beings” and “using them as props” in response to these stunts.