SAN ANTONIO — The Bexar County Sheriff's Office has filed a criminal case related to an incident when dozens of migrants were flown to Martha's Vineyard in 2022.
Since then, thousands of asylum seekers have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and been transported to sanctuary cities such as New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia.
Some of those migrants identified a San Antonio native named Perla Huerta as the woman who recruited them from near San Antonio's Migrant Resource Center on San Pedro Boulevard.
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) has commended BCSO for filing the criminal charges of unlawful restraint. The suspects in the criminal complaint have not been named.
“They’re deceived and they’re told that they’re being taken to one location but instead they’re taken to another, that’s kidnapping and that’s serious," said Lydia Guzman, chairwoman of the LULAC immigration committee. “You cannot do this to human beings, you cannot just kidnap someone this way and I think there should be some consequences for that.”
BCSO released this statement Monday:
"The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has officially filed a completed criminal case with the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office regarding the incident from September 2022 in which 49 migrants were flown to Martha’s Vineyard. The case filed includes both felony and misdemeanor charges of Unlawful Restraint. 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."
Joe D. Gonzales, Bexar County District Attorney's Office released this statement on the investigation of transport of migrants from San Antonio to Martha's Vineyard on Tuesday:
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has now filed in our office a criminal complaint and the results of their investigation regarding the transport of migrants from San Antonio, Texas, to Martha’s Vineyard Massachusetts.
The complaint will undergo our normal and meticulous intake review. The process of determining whether enough evidence exists to charge anyone with a crime and convince a jury of Bexar County citizens “beyond a reasonable doubt” that a crime has been committed may be lengthy and labor-intensive under the best of circumstances. 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.
As always, our review will be thorough and our office will follow the law."
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