Thread: Texas Sheriff Investigating Martha’s Vineyard Flights Hits Back At Kamala Harris For

Texas Sheriff Investigating Martha’s Vineyard Flights Hits Back At Kamala Harris For Saying Border Is Secure



NICOLE SILVERIO MEDIA REPORTER
September 20, 20226:54 PM ET

The Texas sheriff investigating the Martha’s Vineyard flights contradicted Vice President Kamala Harris’ claim that the U.S.-Mexico border is secure during a Tuesday interview on CNN.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar’s comment came in response to Harris telling NBC News anchor Chuck Todd that the “border is secure” in a Sept. 11 interview. Salazar then called on members of the Biden administration to visit the border and communicate with Texas officials.

“I don’t think that the border is as secure as the folks in D.C. might believe,” Salazar said. “You know, I’ve talked to lots of my fellow sheriffs here in the state of Texas, Republican and Democrat. With regard to Texas sheriffs it’s not about red or blue with us, it’s about the gold on our badge and it’s about the knowledge that if any part of our state — in other words, our little piece of the pie, our county — is weak then the whole state is weak. So we work together really well across party lines.”

“And yeah, I think if the White House came down and got an eye on Texas and saw firsthand, which is what I’ve been asking them to do for awhile, come down here and get an eye on the problem, I would beg to differ,” he continued. “I don’t think that the border is as secure as what folk are maybe telling them. With that being said, I think there’s some solutions to be had, but it’s going to start with somebody from D.C. making the trip down here and talking to us.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Monday that migrant apprehensions had surpassed two million since Oct. 2021, the start of the 2022 fiscal year. In FY2021, migrant apprehensions totaled what was then a record high of 1.66 million, according to ABC News.

On Monday, Salazar announced an investigation into the allegations that migrants sent to Martha’s Vineyard were “lured” into boarding flights to the liberal enclave at the behest of Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Salazar claimed that a Venezuelan migrant was paid to convince others to board the planes under “false pretenses.”

“The allegations that we’ve heard, it’s absolutely distasteful, it’s disgusting. It’s an abuse of human rights. But, I would like to find out sooner rather than later what charges if any are going to apply and to whom,” Salazar said. “I believe there’s some criminal activity involved, but at present, we’re trying to keep an open mind and we’re going to investigate to find out, to determine what laws were broken, if that does turn out to be the case.”

A source close to the situation said the migrants were asked multiple times if they wanted to board the planes and were informed of their flight’s destination. A packet given to the migrants prior to the flights clearly indicated Martha’s Vineyard as the destination and included and a list of several resources, including local churches and potential employment opportunities.

Texas Sheriff Investigating Martha’s Vineyard Flights Hits Back At Kamala Harris For Saying Border Is Secure | The Daily Caller

FOX News

Texas sheriff investigating DeSantis says Americans should 'embrace' migrant surge, give them jobs

Paul Best - 2h ago
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar, who opened a criminal investigation this week into migrant flights to Martha's Vineyard, said Tuesday that the solution to the ongoing migrant crisis is to open up more legal pathways for people to come to the United States.

Texas sheriff opens investigation into Ron DeSantis over bussing migrants
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"At some point, you’re going to have to embrace that this is happening to a certain extent. I would say, look, you’ve got people who want to work… and you've got a shortage of workers," he told CNN on Tuesday.

"Hire these folks. Give them the opportunity to work legally, and then make sure that the employers that are employing them are doing it the right way and paying them correctly. And then here’s the catch: tax them on it."
Salazar, a Democrat, said that some migrants should be denied if the vetting process determines that they have a "criminal" or "terrorist" background.
"But people who just want to do a hard day’s work for a hard day’s pay – bring them on in and let’s put them to work," he told CNN. He noted that migrants could be hired to reduce restaurant wait times in San Antonio, Texas, the seat of Bexar County and a major tourist destination due to the Alamo and the Riverwalk.
Migrant encounters at the southern border have reached record levels, with over two million so far this fiscal year, including 203,598 encounters just last month.

BIDEN QUESTIONED ON MIGRANT SURGE, SAYS ‘NOT RATIONAL’ TO ‘SEND THEM BACK’ TO VENEZUELA, CUBA, NICARAGUA

Border Patrol has apprehended 78 individuals whose names are on the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Database in fiscal year 2022, which is triple the past five years combined.
Salazar opened a criminal investigation this week into two flights of 48 migrants who he says were "lured" from the Migrant Resource Center in San Antonio and boarded a plane to Martha's Vineyard "under false pretenses."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose administration organized the flights, denied that the migrants were promised jobs and said that they were given "multiple" opportunities to decline the trip.
Democrats have harshly criticized last week's flights and the bussing of thousands of migrants by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.

DELAWARE, WHITE HOUSE PREPARING FOR POTENTIAL MIGRANT FLIGHT TO ARRIVE NEAR BIDEN HOME

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., echoed Salazar's comments on Tuesday, saying that if "we have legal processes, people would use those legal processes."
"We have continued to increase money at the border, but we haven’t done it by also fixing the legal immigration system and providing people the opportunity and ways to come here legally," Jayapal told CNN.

Lines of migrants cross into Eagle Pass, Texas, on Sept. 16, 2022. Fox News© Fox News

DeSantis dismissed the criticism on Tuesday, saying that Florida just "offered transport to sanctuary jurisdictions."
"I haven't heard a peep about all the people that have been told by Biden [migrants] can just come in — and they're going, they're being abused by the cartels. They're drowning in the Rio Grande. You had 50 that died in some shed in Texas. I heard no outrage about any of that," DeSantis said.

Texas sheriff investigating DeSantis says Americans should 'embrace' migrant surge, give them jobs (msn.com)

This Sheriff needs to be fired!