Massachusetts DA calls for federal investigation into DeSantis’s migrant flights

A Massachusetts district attorney Monday called for a federal investigation into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) efforts to transport migrants by plane across state lines, including to the island of Martha’s Vineyard, which is within the district attorney’s jurisdiction. 

In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois requested the Justice Department (DOJ) investigate a September 2022 incident in which 49 immigrants were transported from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard.

“There are serious indications and allegations that they were inveigled into making this journey. Subsequent reporting and public statements also indicate that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration planned, initiated, funded with taxpayer monies, and executed this enterprise,” Galibois wrote in the letter. 

“My office posits that, due to the interstate transportation of these migrants, this alleged scheme remains available for federal prosecution,” Galibois added.

Galibois joins a similar request made by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Texas Sheriff Javier Salazar of Bexar County, which was also a destination of a migrant flight sent by DeSantis.  

“It is unconscionable to use people as political props by persuading them to travel to another state based on false or deceptive representations. We urge USDOJ to investigate potential violations of federal law by those involved in this scheme,” the three officials wrote in a letter to Garland in early July.

Galibois invoked their letter and said, “I stand behind and support a request made to you … to open federal criminal and civil investigations into these incidents.” 

“Like my colleagues, I stand ready to cooperate with the Department of Justice, provide and share any information about these flights and schemes, and look forward to working with the Department on this issue,” he wrote. 

Galibois also said in the letter that he is aware that interviews with “most if not all” of the migrants were conducted upon their arrival on Martha’s Vineyard, and Galibois requested help in obtaining certified transcriptions of the interviews, which he said were conducted in Spanish.

Galibois, a Democrat, said last week that his office was reviewing the matter of migrant flights and has said that he would like the DOJ to do the same. His comments came just days before DeSantis, a 2024 GOP presidential candidate, planned to attend a big-name fundraiser in the state, The Boston Globe first reported.