Democrats call for justice department to investigate migrant flights

Dozens of Congress members seek inquiry into whether transport of asylum seekers from Florida and Texas broke federal law

Democratic lawmakers have called on the US justice department to investigate whether Florida and Texas officials broke any federal law when they moved dozens of Venezuelan asylum seekers from Texas to Martha's Vineyard under allegedly false pretenses.

The letter from the congressional representatives Gerry Connolly, Sylvia Garcia, Ted Lieu and dozens of other Democrats followed the emergence of a report in which a 27-year-old Venezuelan said he was paid $200 by a mystery figure known as Perla" to find people outside the San Antonio migrant center to board a flight.