The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has recommended the Bexar County District Attorney’s office file criminal charges against those who lured 42 migrants onto a plane in San Antonio last September, leaving them stranded at Martha’s Vineyard.
The sheriff’s office announced it filed the official criminal case with the DA’s office Monday.
“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,” BCSO spokeswoman Adelina Simpson said in a statement.
Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales’ office said the complaint will undergo the “normal and meticulous intake review” before a decision is made.
“If a review of the facts reveal that a felony offense has been committed, we will present that case to a grand jury for their deliberation,” Gonzales said in a statement.
The process of determining whether or not there’s enough evidence to pursue charges and convince a jury of citizens that a crime has been committed “may be lengthy and labor-intensive under the best of circumstances,” he wrote.
“As always, our review will be thorough and our office will follow the law.”
The charges the BCSO recommends include unlawful restraint, on several counts including misdemeanor and felony charges.
“Vulnerable human beings are being hunted in America by government officials wanting to score cheap political points,” Rachel Self, the attorney representing the migrants, wrote on Twitter. “Charges must be filed.”
Days after the Sept. 14 flight to Martha’s Vineyard that Florida governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis took credit for, Sheriff Javier Salazar said his office would open an investigation into whether the people who lured the migrants did so under false pretenses.
Because of the investigation, those on the flight to Martha’s Vineyard qualify for a U Visa, which allows victims of certain crimes to stay in the U.S.
Since then, DeSantis has announced a migrant relocation program that allows Florida to transport migrants anywhere in the country.
“What infuriates me the most about this case is that here we have 48 people who are already on hard times, right?” Salazar said at the time.
“They are here legally in our country, they have every right to be where they are, and I believe they were preyed upon,” he said. “Somebody … preyed upon these people, lured them with promises for a better life, which is what they were absolutely looking for.”
“Governor DeSantis used fraud and deception to lure vulnerable people from San Antonio and dump them in a remote island community that scrambled to care for them,” U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro wrote on Twitter. “This was human trafficking — and the people who perpetrated this crime must be held responsible.”
