There is nothing unlawful about conveying individuals who are lawfully in the country pending their immigration hearings. Indeed, public interest groups and the federal government do so regularly, including late-night flights to various cities. Many migrants are released soon after capture, including some without a hearing date or court dates that are years in the future. They are then left to their own devices and destinations.

Moreover, it is not clear how transporting migrants who entered the country illegally to another state is a violation of law. If so, there would be a host of local Democratic and federal officials who could be charged on that basis. New York City recently sent migrants to other cities without their permission or prior notice; Democratic leaders in El Paso, Texas, have also arranged such transports. …

Bonta appears ready to dismiss the verbal and written waivers of these migrants as meaningless because, he says, “it was false. You can’t consent based on deception.”

Yet, given California’s ample package of benefits for undocumented migrants — ranging from free college to driver’s licenses, cash assistance and food stamps — it was no deception for Florida to highlight the Golden State’s status as a sanctuary state.

[Newsom and other Democrats have demagogued on border security and immigration enforcement for decades with their “sanctuary” claims. Now it’s actually costing them, politically and economically, and they don’t like it. That makes Newsom’s “small, pathetic” namecalling of DeSantis yet another case of projection for Governor French Laundry. — Ed]