If I were elected officials in Texas and Florida, I'd be much more worried about kidnapping and similar charges. Because, well, moving a person from one place to another by means of fraud seems seems to be pretty much the definition of kidnapping.
There's this weird, and frankly bigoted, infantilization of economic migrants who cross illegally. They aren't stupid. They are just as smart as your typical colleague. They are informed, they have agency, and access to information via smart phones they bring with them or the ones provided to them when CBP gives them a data to appear for their asylum hearings.
If I lived in one of these countries, I'd be one of these migrants. And there's no way I'd get on a bus or plane to a destination unless I thought there were more opportunities there. And yes, the Martha's Vineyard plane fiasco was a publicity stunt, BUT it clearly showed the utter hypocrisy Americans have on this issue. They showed up on an island filled with vacant 10 bedroom mansions, and early enough in the fall where a large percentage of businesses were still open. Not a single mansion was offered to them. Instead they were rapidly ferried to a military base to avoid offending the sensibilities of the economic elites on MV.
Meanwhile, if you live in a border town, you're just expected to deal with 1000x the number with no assistance from the US Federal government. After all, what do they care? They're thousands of miles away, and only care about things that they see. And they don't see the border towns, because the US national media has decided that it's not an interesting story for their audiences.
> There's this weird, and frankly bigoted, infantilization of economic migrants who cross illegally. They aren't stupid. They are just as smart as your typical colleague. They are informed, they have agency, and access to information via smart phones they bring with them or the ones provided to them when CBP gives them a data to appear for their asylum hearings.
And their understanding is likely a lot more sophisticated that a general inference about large cities. I would be highly surprised if they didn't have detailed, up-to-date knowledge about different US cities and their policies towards migrants (e.g. go to New York, be welcomed with open arms and be put up in a hotel). It's a major project to get to the border, and they're going to be trading information with other migrants, including ones that have already arrived at their destination.
"the unlawful act of capturing and carrying away a person against their will and holding them in false imprisonment"
Nobody is being carried against their will. Nobody is being held under false imprisonment.
Texas penal code title 5, chapter 20, section 20.03:
KIDNAPPING. (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly abducts another person.
Abduct is defined in section 20.01(2):
(2) "Abduct" means to restrain a person with intent to prevent his liberation by: (A) secreting or holding him in a place where he is not likely to be found --snip--
Per reports, the alleged undocumented immigrants are induced with imaginary benefits (such as expedited asylum claims) and are sent to destinations unknown by them. If you don't know where you're going, you're not likely to be found.
At the very least it'd be unlawful restraint.
Sec. 20.02. UNLAWFUL RESTRAINT. (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly restrains another person.
Restrain is defined in section 20.01(1):
(1) "Restrain" means to restrict a person's movements without consent, so as to interfere substantially with the person's liberty, by moving the person from one place to another or by confining the person. Restraint is "without consent" if it is accomplished by:
(A) force, intimidation, or deception --snip--
The alleged undocumented immigrants are being induced onto these bus and/or planes by false promises (e.g. expedited asylum claims elsewhere). Which means they're being trafficked somewhere else via deception.
What makes you think any of the people transported are going against their will?
That seems like such a weird take without lots of evidence.
It seems much more likely that someone was offered a flight or bus ride to anywhere that isn’t Texas and they accepted. Financially, it’s much more beneficial to go to NYC or Denver or SFO than stay on the Texas border. And there are so many migrants it’s easy to just ask until your plane fills up.
Any kidnapping lawsuits are likely to end up in the prosecutor looking stupid as 1) the migrants transported will likely say they went willingly / transporter has documentation and 2) migrants will likely split because they don’t want to be deported
Under 18 USC 1201, a person is guilty of kidnapping who "unlawfully seizes, confines, inveigles, decoys, kidnaps, abducts, or carries away and holds for ransom or reward or otherwise any person."
I think what went down would definitely qualify as inveigling.