Texas sheriff opens criminal investigation into Martha’s Vineyard migrant trips
Bexar County, Texas Sheriff Javier Salazar says his agency will investigate the transportation of 48 Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard. Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis chartered two private flights to transport migrants to the Massachusetts island community last week.
The decision comes on the heels of immigration rights groups and Democrats accusing Republicans of exploiting vulnerable migrants for political points by promising them jobs and housing, only to fly them to an island off the coast of Massachusetts that was not warned people needing help were coming.
Salazar, sheriff for the county where San Antonio is located, says a Venezuelan migrant was paid to recruit others in San Antonio. He alleges they were lured to a hotel where they stayed for two days, then flown to Florida and finally to Martha's Vineyard under false pretenses.
The Sheriff says he thinks laws were not only broken in Bexar County but also at the federal level. He believes his investigation will lead to a federal probe. Salazar says he has identified persons of interest but hasn't made those names public.
He did not mention Governor DeSantis or Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Salazar said his office's organized crime investigators would handle the investigation.
