Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois Friday called on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the migrant flights that landed on Martha’s Vineyard last September.

The flights, which transported 49 Venezuelan asylum seekers from Texas to the Vineyard without warning, have been repeated in parts of California earlier this year, prompting the governor of California, the attorney general of California and the sheriff of Bexar County, Texas to request that the department open federal criminal and civil investigations into the incidents. In a statement released Friday, Mr. Galibois threw his support behind a federal investigation.

The flights had been chartered as part of the state of Florida’s new immigrant relocation program, targeted at self-proclaimed “sanctuary states.”

“Given that much of the information I seek to review as part of my investigation falls out of my jurisdiction, I stand behind California and believe that in order for a full and proper investigation to occur, the Department of Justice must be involved,” Mr. Galibois’ statement read.

The district attorney formalized the request in a letter to the Department of Justice sent Monday, asking that the department help obtain translations and transcriptions of Spanish interviews with the migrants conducted after they initially landed.

“These interviews, coupled with other obtained evidence, would provide crucial support for my initial assessment as to whether further investigation is warranted,” he wrote.

The call came as Florida Governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis held a fundraiser Saturday in Cotuit, just 16 miles from where the planes landed last September. Governor DeSantis has taken credit for the flights, often using them as a talking point on the campaign trail.

Some involved in the initial migrant response on-Island commended the district attorney Monday.

“I offer my sincere thanks to District Attorney Galibois, and I hope Attorney General [Merrick] Garland will heed the call, step up, and fulfill his most sacred role as a public servant: protecting those who cannot protect themselves,” Vineyard resident and immigration attorney Rachel Self said in a statement.