Massachusetts DA calls on DOJ to probe Florida migrant flights

BOSTON — The Massachusetts district attorney who represents the wealthy enclave where Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flew 49 migrants last September is now calling on the federal Justice Department to investigate the transport.

Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday asking DOJ to investigate allegations that the migrants were misled into getting on the planes that took them from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard.

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

He’s also asking the Justice Department to help translate interviews that were conducted with the migrants in Spanish after they arrived on the island to help further his own investigation.

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has also called on the DOJ to probe Florida over the flights.

A spokesperson for the DeSantis administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Galibois is a Democrat who flipped the Republican-held Cape and Islands district attorney seat two months after the migrants arrived on flights orchestrated by the Republican Florida governor’s administration. He took office in January.

Galibois said last week that he intends to investigate the migrant flights and wants the Justice Department to do the same, making the announcement a day before DeSantis was due on Cape Cod for a fundraiser for his presidential campaign.

While DeSantis has touted the migrant flights to Massachusetts on the campaign trail, he didn’t mention the transport during the fundraiser that was just a ferry ride away from Martha’s Vineyard, per an attendee.

Christine Mui contributed to this report.