SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made his first comments after state officials confirmed they coordinated the flights that brought three dozen migrants to Sacramento.
On Tuesday, Florida's Division of Emergency Management sent ABC10 a video saying it showed the migrants making their journey to California.
At this point, ABC10 is still working to confirm that the individuals in that video are in fact the same people who are here now.
DeSantis spoke at a roundtable in Arizona on Wednesday.
"We have put forth resources to assist with the transportation of illegal migrants to sanctuary jurisdictions where they've advertised that they welcome that. That prevents from coming to Florida," said DeSantis.
While vocalizing his thoughts on migrants, he did not directly speak on the men and women who were dropped off in Sacramento.
On Tuesday, California lawmakers and faith-based organizations condemned the actions of those behind the move.
"Whoever is doing this is committing a terrible wrong, so that's one given. But the other given is, the other question is, what must be our response when innocent people come to our city and land on our doorstep. And there is only one answer: we must find a way," said Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg.
From the beginning, Sacramento officials have said the migrants were misled and did not know they were being flown into the state. But DeSantis' administration said the men and women all went willingly, and it was done through verbal and written consent.
DeSantis made a statement Wednesday on why his administration made that decision.
"The reality is, I think the border should be closed. I don't think we should have any of this. But if there's a policy to have an open border, then I think the sanctuary jurisdiction should be the ones who have to bear that. We're not a sanctuary in Florida, and yes, we know people want to come. So the more we can divert before we even get there is good for our state," said DeSantis.
Sacramento County released statement regarding the migrants Wednesday as well.
"While Sacramento was not expecting these individuals, the immediate and coordinated effort to receive them, shelter them and care for their basic needs, as well as more complex needs such as medical, legal, and mental health needs by local agencies, faith-based organizations and community partners highlights the importance of this collaborative system.”
Sacramento officials said they are in need of attorneys to represent the migrants who have pending cases.
Right now, there is a call to anyone who would like to help. As far as donations go, people can reach out to Sacramento ACT. For donation questions, people can reach out to Diana Patterson at diana@sacact.org (916) 886-7378. They say email or text is best.
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