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June 5, 2023

"State-Sanctioned Kidnapping": California Blasts Migrant Flights
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Back in the U.S., California authorities have launched an investigation
after at least 16 asylum seekers were flown to Sacramento Friday in a
private jet believed to have been arranged by the state of Florida. The
migrants, who are from Venezuela and Colombia, say they were promised
work if they boarded the flight, but were instead dropped off in front
of a church with only a backpack's worth of belongings. The group had
entered the U.S. through the Texas border and were transported by bus to
New Mexico, where they were put on the chartered jet to California.
Officials say the migrants had paperwork appearing to link the flight to
Florida. California's attorney general called the move a
"state-sanctioned kidnapping."

Last year, officials working for Republican Governor Ron De Santis
helped coordinate similar flights, coercing dozens of asylum seekers to
go to Martha's Vineyard under the false promise they'd be given jobs and
housing.