Gov. Gavin Newsom, on Monday, threatened Gov. Ron DeSantis with kidnapping charges after California officials released a statement saying that the South American migrants were sent to Sacramento by the state of Florida as a part of a political stunt.
Newsom, took to Twitter and called the Florida governor and Republican presidential hopeful a “small, pathetic man”. He also cited state kidnapping laws in his tweet.
“This isn’t Martha’s Vineyard. Kidnapping charges?” he said in the tweet, exemplifying last year’s DeSantis’ action to send a group of Venezuelan migrants to the affluent liberal vacation spot in Massachusetts.
Newsom said that sixteen migrants from Venezuela and Colombia were taken to New Mexico from Texas and flown on a chartered plane to Sacramento, where they were dropped off at a church on Friday.
A plane aboard 20 migrants landed in Sacramento on Monday. The groups were transported by the same contractor and were carrying documents pointing out to the fact that their travel involved the state of Florida, LA Times cited California Department of Justice officials as saying.
Newsom said that his administration is probing ‘the circumstances around’ of who paid for the plane trips, or if the migrants were misled or the laws were violated, including kidnapping.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office was “evaluating potential criminal or civil action against those who transported or arranged for the transport of these vulnerable immigrants.”
“State-sanctioned kidnapping is not a public policy choice, it is immoral and disgusting,” he said in a statement.
California Governor Newsom refuses to back reparations proposal for Black residents
Days after a California panel voted to approve millions in reparations for Black residents in the state, Gavin Newsom refused to lend his support to the initiative.
Newsom said the reparations, meant to take responsibility for the country and state’s apathy towards its Black residents in the past, was ‘much more than cash payments’.
“Dealing with that legacy is about much more than cash payments. Many of the recommendations put forward by the Task Force are critical action items we’ve already been hard at work addressing,” Newson told Fox News Digital.
“Breaking down barriers to vote, bolstering resources to address hate, enacting sweeping law enforcement and justice reforms to build trust and safety, strengthening economic mobility – all while investing billions to root out disparities and improve equity in housing, education, healthcare, and well beyond. This work must continue,” he added.
The Democrat leader, however, applauded the work of the task force and said his administration will continue the process of healing.
“The Reparations Task Force’s independent findings and recommendations are a milestone in our bipartisan effort to advance justice and promote healing. This has been an important process, and we should continue to work as a nation to reconcile our original sin of slavery and understand how that history has shaped our country.”
Nikki Haley criticises DeSantis over Ukraine war
Nikki Haley, a Republican candidate in the race for the US White House, has criticised her two contenders, former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for their stance on Ukraine’s conflict with Russia.
Haley, who previously served as the UN ambassador under Trump, took issue with their refusal to express a clear position on whether they want Ukraine to succeed in its war against Russia.
In a recent statement, Trump stated that he wanted the war to end and that he would assist in negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
DeSantis too has expressed his support for a settlement to the war and said he hoped for an end to the fighting by the time he becomes the president in January 2025.
Haley, during a CNN town hall event in Iowa, criticized DeSantis for referring to the conflict as a “territorial dispute,” a statement he has since retracted.
“For them to sit there and say that this is a territorial dispute – that’s just not the case, or to say that we should stay neutral,” she told voters.
She argued that it is in the best interest of national security for Ukraine to win the conflict. The issue of Ukraine tends to divide Republicans due to varying positions on isolationism among primary voters.
(With inputs from agencies)
