US Treasury Says Opened Probe Into Florida’s Funding of Migrant Flights to Massachusetts

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Treasury Department opened a probe to determine whether the state of Florida improperly used federal funds to fly migrants to Massachusetts as part of a statement on the Biden administration’s immigration policy, Treasury Department Deputy Inspector General Richard Delmar said in a letter released Wednesday.

In September, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis flew a plane of approximately 50 migrants who illegally crossed the US-Mexico border to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts as part of a political statement on the Biden administration’s approach to border control. Around the same time, the state of Texas sent busloads of migrants to Vice President Kamala Harris’ DC residence.

The moves drew criticism from local residents and attention from national media, with experts telling Sputnik that the action was an effective political stunt

"As part of its oversight responsibilities for the SLFRF [State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund] TIG [Treasury Office of Inspector General] has audit work planned on recipients’ compliance with eligible use guidance. In addition, as part of our oversight work of the Coronavirus Relief Fund established by the CARES Act, we have already sought information from Florida about appropriate use of that fund," Delmar said in the letter to lawmakers who requested the probe.

TIG plans to begin work on the matter as quickly as possible, consistent with meeting other oversight mandates and priorities, Delmar added.

Democratic US Senator Ed Markey, who was among the lawmakers to request the probe, praised TIG’s response in a statement later on Wednesday.

"I applaud the swift response from the Treasury’s Office of the Inspector General. For the sake of the migrants who were lured onto charter planes under false pretenses… I hope that this investigation sheds light on whether Governor DeSantis misused funds that were intended for COVID relief for Floridians," Markey said.

Martha’s Vineyard, an island where former US President Barack Obama owns a mansion, was chosen as an end destination for the migrants due to its status as a so-called "sanctuary" location where immigration laws are selectively unenforced.