The Treasury Department is looking into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) handling of flying migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
The department penned a letter to lawmakers in Massachusetts responding to their request that the treasury “investigate whether the State of Florida has improperly used funds obtained or derived from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery fund (SLFRF) to transport persons to Massachusetts.”
According to Richard K. Delmar, deputy inspector general for the Treasury Department, they have “already sought information from Florida about appropriate use of that fund.”
Concluding the letter, Delmar wrote, “We plan to get this work underway as quickly as possible, consistent with meeting our other oversight mandates and priorities, both in pandemic recovery programs as well as the other Treasury programs and operations for which we have responsibility.”
Read the letter below:
NEW: The inspector general of the treasury is investigating Ron DeSantis for alleged misuse of federal funds to transport migrants. pic.twitter.com/wb7mRl2YMp
— Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) October 12, 2022
Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), one of the recipients of the letter, applauded Delmar for his response.
“For the sake of the migrants who were lured onto charter planes under false pretenses, and for the commendable Commonwealth residents who rallied together to offer support, I hope that this investigation sheds light on whether Governor DeSantis misused funds that were intended for COVID relief for Floridians,” Markey said in a statement.
Additionally, the sheriff in San Antonio, Texas, has launched an investigation into the treatment of migrants, as ABC News reported.
“We have to determine what exactly happened — what was said, what was done, how were these people treated while they were here in my county? And if we can prove criminal intent, then we may be charging somebody with a crime,” the sheriff told the outlet.
Last month, it was reported that the undocumented migrants filed a class action lawsuit against DeSantis.
The migrants claim they “suffered economic, emotional, and constitutional harms” that amount to at least $75,000.
“Defendants’ actions not only offend all notions of fairness, but they also stripped Plaintiffs of their basic human dignity, in violation of due process,” the complaint states.
Taryn Fenske, a spokesperson for DeSantis, told Axios it is “opportunistic that activists would use illegal immigrants for political theater.”
She continued, “If these activists spent even a fraction of this time and effort at the border, perhaps some accountability would be brought to the Biden Administration’s reckless border policies that entice illegal immigrants to make dangerous and often lethal journeys through Central America and put their lives in the hands of cartels and Coyotes.”
