A Texas sheriff's office has recommended that prosecutors in San Antonio file
criminal charges for those in Florida who took part in the transportation of
49 asylum seekers from Texas to Martha's Vineyard late last year.
You're looking at images of what that scene looked like.
Now, while it's still unclear who would be charged in this case or
whether prosecutors would even file charges, to begin with.
The sheriff's office indicates that the charges would, should they be filed,
include both criminal and misdemeanor charges related to unlawful restraint.
So just to back up a little bit, the backstory to this has to do with both
Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis either busing or
flying migrants to various sanctuary states and sanctuary cities.
They're doing this to make a point about how immigration is impacting these border
towns, but all of these sanctuary cities and
states don't have to deal with it to the same extent.
But they love to give themselves a pat on the back when they don't really have to
deal with it at all.
Now, there is a level of cruelty involved if the individuals who are being
transported are being lied to, and that is the allegation here, okay?
So this is the Bexar County Sheriff's Deputy, Johnny Garza,
who also happens to be a spokesperson for this sheriff's office.
And he said this at this time, the case is being reviewed by the DA's office.
Once an update is available, it will be provided to the public.
We're not naming the suspect at this time or
the amount of charges that are being filed.
And the sheriff here, Javier Salazar, also signed certificates for
each of the migrants involved in the Martha's Vineyard incident so
they can be eligible for what is known as a U visa.
That's a category established in 2000 and
available to victims of crimes to basically enable them to provide
information to authorities about illegal activity.
Now, about eight months ago when this incident happened,
sheriff Salazar spoke to the press about how he intended to investigate it.
And I think what he says here during a PBS interview is telling in regard to what we
can expect in the future when it comes to this story that's getting a lot of
attention.
Are charges actually gonna be filed against anyone?
Well, why don't we listen to him and you can decide for yourself?
>> Governor Ron DeSantis is now named in a class action
lawsuit filed on behalf of these migrants.
And the complaint alleges this that he and other officials, quote, designed and
executed a premeditated, fraudulent, and illegal scheme for the sole purpose of
advancing their own personal, financial, and political interests.
Sheriff Salazar, is that the kind of thing you're looking into, and
is Governor DeSantis a suspect?
>> Well, no, I mean,
I think to say that Governor DeSantis is a suspect is a long stretch.
What my concern is, and what I have authority of is my corner of the world,
which is Bexar County.
My concern is did somebody with feet planted on Bexar County soil break
the law or not?
>> So I'm just gonna say what I think.
I think that this is just political on all sides and I think that migrants are being
used as political pawns and I just find it incredibly disgusting.
That's my take on it.
>> Yeah. So
I've had a different take on this from day one, which I'll get to in a second.
First stuff that the sheriff is right about.
So yeah, of course, you shouldn't lie to the immigrants, and
it appears that they did.
And if they broke the law, then they broke the law, enforce the law,
no question about it.
I've always had that position no matter which party and which person is involved.
Also, Trump moved by DeSantis to use someone on the ground
who might get arrested and then he skates by free.
And so beware of trusting Republican leaders,
they will throw you under a bus with no help to be found.
Okay, now having said that,
I think it's right on politics and even right on policy.
So get prepared to be angry, okay?
So first of all, on the politics, as I said from the very first day,
why do the border states have to deal with it exclusively?
Why do we say, okay, these are our immigration laws,
we love our immigration laws, but they should only affect Texas and Arizona, etc.
>> And California.
>> California a little bit or maybe a lot, but anyway,
it doesn't affect my personal life.
I don't want anybody to get it twisted.
But yeah, why shouldn't Martha's Vineyard in Illinois and etc,
also have to deal with our national immigration issues?
And secondly, they have sanctuary cities.
I'm in favor of sanctuary cities cuz I don't want people getting arrested for
reporting a rape or murder or crime, etc.
But they say, okay, you're a sanctuary city, we're gonna send some to you.
You guys seem like good, generous people.
Well, we are, okay?
I'm not sure I see where the problem is.
>> Yeah. >> And so that's the politics of it.
It forces you into a conversation about why you don't want them, but
they should have them.
Don't get me wrong, Florida is not really a border state, [LAUGH].
>> No. >> Okay.
>> Okay, sorry to interrupt you, but
I have to just make this quick note about Florida.
Look, what Ron DeSantis is doing is just purely
political because what he's doing is he's taking migrants from Texas.
They're not even in Florida.
He's flying them from Texas to other parts of the country to make a point.
Now, he's also done that to some extent with some migrants in Florida,
but obviously Florida is not a border state, so they're not dealing with
the migrant crisis the same way that some of these border states are.
But he's doing it specifically because he's running for president.
He's trying to send a message.
For Greg Abbott to do it it's both political and
he's trying to send a message about what his state has been dealing with, go ahead,
Cenk, continue your point.
>> Yeah, so it's obviously a publicity stunt,
as I was saying because Florida is not a border state.
And so what are you going to a different state and
illegally busing people to a third state for?
So that's why I say enforce the law.
I don't want anybody get me wrong on what I'm saying there.
Now, in terms of when you get to the policy for actual border states, look,
guys, we gotta make a decision on what should be our immigration policy.
And then we should have it be even-handed for everybody.
And if Texas says, I have a lot of problems paying for all of this and
I need federal help in paying for it, well, that makes sense, right?
And if you ship them to Chicago and then Chicago says, well, I can't pay for
this, right?
Yeah, that's true too, but wait a minute.
Then why does Texas have to pay for it or Arizona have to pay for it?
So let's be even-handed about how we handle it, and let's handle it humanely,
and let's have rational laws that we apply even-handedly.
I know for Democrats are gonna say, no, don't send them to us, but you're evil for
not taking them.
For Republicans, they're gonna say, no, just send them all or
we don't want them, etc.
But as you'll see later in the show, there's another story that shows, no,
the Republicans need immigrants, too.
Their businesses absolutely rely on them, and they're totally and
utterly full of crap.
But that being said, it shouldn't have to fall just to the border states.
>> Yeah, look, living in California, obviously,
we have a large immigrant population here.
I think that it's one of the upsides of living in California.
This idea that all they are is a drain on our resources is ridiculous.
Many of them, you can see them and how hard they work, whether it's as food,
street vendors selling roses on corners.
They bust their butts to try to make a living here in the United States.
But I agree with you, Cenk.
The only thing is if these government officials are lying to the migrants about
where they're being taken or what they will get, whether it's work visas or
some other perk if they get transported to another place, that is an issue.
And they should face consequences for
those lies because clearly they're being transported under false pretenses.
However, if the migrants know exactly what's going on and they agree and
consent to being transported to other parts of the country,
especially these sanctuary cities, then what is the problem?
I just need to understand what the issue is.
>> Well, you're just dropping them off in Martha's Vineyard.
>> They wanted it if they consented to it.
What's the issue?
Is the issue that these cities and states wanted to pat themselves on the back and
get the kudos and get the cookies for being friendly to migrants,
knowing full well that they wouldn't have to deal with an influx of immigration.
What's really going on?
Let's keep it real.
>> Yeah, and look, we got to make a distinction between the cities and
how they're handling it themselves and the politicians because Martha's Vineyard
actually did a great job in handling the immigrants.
So we broke that down for you guys.
And they were welcoming and beautiful, and it was great, okay?
So nothing went terribly wrong there.
But now when in places like Chicago, they're just taking the immigrants that
are coming off the buses and stuffing them into African American neighborhoods that
are poorer and going, okay, you guys deal with them now.
No, wait, wait, wait, wait, [LAUGH] that's not how we do this.
>> That's exactly what's happening.
>> Okay, and then the politicians are howling like,
how dare you send us immigrants that we say we're theoretically in favor of?
No, we have to come up with a rational policy that makes sense for everybody.
Don't tell me that you love immigrants and then don't want them.
And then when you get them, make sure that you put them exclusively
in poor neighborhoods or minority neighborhoods and go, problem solved.
No, not problem solved.
I know it's super hard to ask politicians to come up with a rational policy and
one that's fair, but maybe we should try it for a change.