The League of United Latin American Citizens met with migrants on Sunday in the border town of Eagle Pass and informed them of their civil rights before bussing about three dozen to Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas.
LULAC National President Domingo Garcia said the organization is trying to counter the "lies and misinformation recruiters are using to entice men, women and children in despair."
"I have spoken with many of the refugees personally and know all they want is to work and to have a safe place to live while they await their court date," Garcia said in a statement. "Instead, Governors Abbott and DeSantis, and others are toying with them like political piñatas with no concern for their well-being."
Gov. Abbott has bussed more than 10,000 migrants to Washington, D.C., New York City, and Chicago over the past few months in an effort to bring light to the record numbers of migrants coming across the border.
FLORIDA GOV. DESANTIS SAYS FUNDS ARE IN PLACE TO BUS ILLEGAL MIGRANTS OUT OF HIS STATE
Gov. DeSantis chartered two flights of 48 migrants from San Antonio with a final destination of Martha's Vineyard last week. The DeSantis administration has denied reports that the migrants were promised jobs in Martha's Vineyard and said that they were given "multiple" opportunities to decline the trip.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar, a Democrat, announced a criminal investigation on Monday into whether migrants were "lured" from the Migrant Resource Center in San Antonio under "false pretenses."
LULAC is offering a $5,000 reward for information on a woman named Perla who allegedly told migrants that they would have three months of work lined up if they got on the plane to Martha's Vineyard.
DeSantis' office said that migrants have been "left to fend for themselves" in Bexar County.
"Unless the MA national guard has abandoned these individuals, they have been provided accommodations, sustenance, clothing and more options to succeed following their unfair enticement into the United States, unlike the 53 immigrants who died in a truck found abandoned in Bexar County this June," DeSantis' office said, referencing dozens of migrants who were found dead in a sweltering tractor trailer in San Antonio.
Tom Schmerber, the sheriff of Maverick County, where Eagle Pass is located, said this month that his priority is the safety of his county.
"I'm very worried with reference to who's coming through. I know there's people that want to make a better life, but there's also people who want to take advantage of the situation, the criminal element," Schmerber told Fox News.
