EXCLUSIVE: 'I'm all about it': Ex-Navy SEAL Rep. Morgan Luttrell says he BACKS migrant flights to Sacramento that Gov. Newsom has called 'kidnapping' - because Texas shouldn't have to deal with border crossers alone

  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he's investigating 'state-sanctioned kidnapping' after migrants arrive without 'advance warning'
  • More than two dozen Venezuelan and Colombian migrants who entered the US via Texas were transported to Sacramento, California, and left outside a church

Rep. Morgan Luttrell, a former Navy SEAL who represents a district on the eastern side of Texas, said he backs the flights of migrants from the southern border to California that Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has called 'kidnapping.' 

Sixteen young Venezuelan and Colombian men and women were dropped off Friday outside the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento after being flown from Texas, through New Mexico and into California's state capital. A second load with 20 migrants arrived Monday. 

Luttrell told DailyMail.com during an exclusive interview Tuesday that he had just seen the 'ridiculous' reaction by Newsom. 

'I'm all about it,' he said regarding the flights, adding that Texas 'shouldn't be the only ones who care' about the massive influx of migrants causing chaos in border cities.

'If you don't care, we do. And we help. The cities around Washington, D.C., Chicago and New York are complaining about tens of thousands of migrants. We have tens of thousands a day. You can't argue that with me,' Luttrell continued.

Sixteen young Venezuelan and Colombian men and women were dropped off Friday outside the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento after being flown from Texas, through New Mexico and into California's state capital

Sixteen young Venezuelan and Colombian men and women were dropped off Friday outside the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento after being flown from Texas, through New Mexico and into California's state capital

He added that the state is 'doing everything' it can to help law enforcement and everyday Texans deal with the influx - which reached up to 10,000 illegal entries in the days leading up to the end of COVID-era Title 42 that allowed quick expulsions at the border.

Border Patrol agents saw a 50 percent drop in the number of migrants crossing from Mexico into the U.S., after Title 42's official end on May 11, according to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas - but border agents remain outnumbered by illegal crossers who are taking over local border towns.

'My Texans down there on the border are losing ranches. The city infrastructure itself, whether whether it's police, first responders, the grocery stores, the restaurants, they're just done,' Luttrell, who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee, told DailyMail.com. 

Due to the massive influx of migrants people are also being forced to sell off their ranches because they're losing their livestock. 

'If a fence is torn down and livestock get out on the road and somebody hits the livestock, it's the ranchers fault,' he added. 'And you know, that's just unacceptable.'

Luttrell called H.R. 2, a sweeping immigration and border security bill which passed the House last month on a 219 to 213 party-line vote, a 'great stepping off' point for border security, but there is more to be done. 

According to local county sheriffs, migrants are moving deeper within Texas into quieter, more rural districts and the small local populations are feeling the impact, the Texas congressman added.

Luttrell told DailyMail.com that one county's school district has been 'overwhelmed' by migrants to the point that alternate buildings and teachers had to be brought in, at an expense to local dwellers. 

As for what more the Homeland Committee can work on this Congress to address the migrant crisis, Luttrell said that there is an immediate need to take 'the handcuffs off of our CBP' and let them go to work. 

'Unfortunately, the administration is not allowing that and so here is that friction that we have.'

The migrant flights is the latest attempt to move individuals from border towns into the interior of the U.S., to spread out the congestion. Busloads of migrants from Texas have recently been sent to liberal-led Chicago and Washington, D.C. 

Gov. Newsom said he is working with the California Department of Justice to find out whether any criminal wrongdoing took place regarding the recent flights, including who paid for the group's travel and 'whether the individuals orchestrating this trip misled anyone with false promises or have violated any criminal laws, including kidnapping.' 

He has also directly accused Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis of 'kidnapping' for organizing and financing the flights, but it is still not immediately clear who is behind them. 

The California governor tweeted Monday at Ron DeSantis saying 'you small, pathetic man. This isn't Martha's Vineyard.'

He referenced DeSantis' decision to send a group of migrants from Venezuela migrants to the ritzy Massachusetts vacation spot.

Luttrell, a former Navy SEAL who represents a district on the eastern side of Texas, said he backs the flights of migrants from the Texas border to California that Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling 'kidnapping'

Luttrell, a former Navy SEAL who represents a district on the eastern side of Texas, said he backs the flights of migrants from the Texas border to California that Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling 'kidnapping'

More than a dozen Venezuelan and Colombian migrants who entered the US via Texas were transported by private plane to Sacramento, California, and left outside the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, pictured

More than a dozen Venezuelan and Colombian migrants who entered the US via Texas were transported by private plane to Sacramento, California, and left outside the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, pictured 

California Gov. Newsom tweeted Monday at Ron DeSantis saying 'you small, pathetic man. This isn't Martha's Vineyard'

California Gov. Newsom tweeted Monday at Ron DeSantis saying 'you small, pathetic man. This isn't Martha's Vineyard'

State Attorney General Rob Bonta he said the migrants possessed documentation allegedly showing they had arrived from Florida. 

'State-sanctioned kidnapping is not a public policy choice, it is immoral and disgusting,' Bonta wrote in a statement.

According to state officials, the migrants had already been processed by U.S. immigration officials and given court dates for their asylum cases when 'individuals representing a private contractor' approached them outside a migrant center in El Paso, Texas. 

'They were lied to and intentionally deceived,' Eddie Carmona, campaign director at PICO California, a faith-based community organizing group that has been assisting the migrants said.

He added that the migrants had no idea where they were after being dropped off in Sacramento.

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