Cape And Islands DA Formally Calls For DeSantis Investigation With DOJ Letter

BARNSTABLE, MA — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had an interesting start to his New England campaign trek over the weekend.

On Friday, Cape and Island District Attorney Robert Galibois issued a statement in which he urged the United States Department of Justice to open an investigation into migrant flights to Martha's Vineyard.

Then on Saturday, DeSantis hosted a campaign event in Cotuit in which he was greeted by protesters. The event cost one person $3,300 to attend while a couple needed to pay $6,600 to rub elbows with the governor.

DeSantis then made his way to New Hampshire, which was more friendly to the presidential hopeful whose campaign has recently hit a rough patch.

Now, on Monday, Galibois has DeSantis in his sights again.

Galibois has formally issued a call for federal criminal and civil investigations into Florida and the DeSantis administration for the Martha's Vineyard and more recent California flights.

A letter from Galibois addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland, is included in full below:

"As District Attorney for the Cape and Islands District in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, having assumed office in January 2023, my jurisdiction includes the island of Martha's Vineyard.

In September 2022, a reported 49 immigrants were transported to this island from Texas. There are serious indications and allegations that they were inveigled into making this journey.

Subsequent reporting and public statements also indicate that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration planned, initiated, funded with taxpayer monies, and executed this enterprise.

I am conscious of my obligation as District Attorney to investigate any potential criminal activity that occurs within my jurisdiction, regardless of whether it took place before I assumed office.

Publicly reported information indicates that said enterprise was hatched in Florida, launched in Texas, briefly appeared in South Carolina and North Carolina, and concluded in Massachusetts on the island of Martha's Vineyard. Related communications in electronic and documentary form are suggested to exist in each of the foregoing states.

My office posits that, due to the interstate transportation of these migrants, this alleged scheme remains available for federal prosecution.

Therefore, I stand behind and support a request made to you on July 6, 2023, from the Governor of California, the Attorney General of California, and the Sheriff from Bexar County Texas (where this and a subsequent comparable journey to California originated), to open federal criminal and civil investigations into these incidents.

Regarding my jurisdiction in particular, my office is aware that soon after deplaning, interviews were conducted with most if not all the immigrants who arrived on Martha's Vineyard. These interviews are in Spanish.

My initial request is that the Department of Justice assist our office in obtaining certified translations and transcriptions of these interviews. These interviews, coupled with other obtained evidence, would provide crucial support for my initial assessment as to whether further investigation is warranted.

As elected law enforcement and public officials from California to Texas have noted, "[i]t is unconscionable to use people as political props by persuading them to travel to another state based on false or deceptive representations."

Like my colleagues, I stand ready to cooperate with the Department of Justice, provide and share any information about these flights and schemes, and look forward to working with the Department on this issue."

Perhaps the most direct request is for translations of interviews with people who arrived on Martha's Vineyard.

The flights last September sent nearly 50 asylum seekers, most of whom were from San Antonio, Texas, to Martha's Vineyard. It was part of what Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has referred to as a migrant relocation program.

Galibois specifically asked that the Department of Justice help his office in obtaining certified translations and transcriptions of these interviews.

This letter follows a weeks-long spat between Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom and, more recently, Republican Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.

Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta recently called on the Department of Justice to investigate Florida after migrants arrived in Sacramento in June. Bonta Bonta said at the time that, although the circumstances surrounding their arrival in the California capital are still being investigated, the migrants had documentation that appeared to have been issued by Florida.

Moody, in response to calls for an investigation, wrote a three-page letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland urging him to ignore the request.

RELATED: Cape And Islands DA Calls For DOJ Investigation Into Migrant Flights