DeSantis, ICE tout state's success in immigration enforcement in support of Trump drive for deportations
Gov. Ron DeSantis says Florida is leading the way when it comes to immigration enforcement in an effort to assist President Trump's drive for mass deportations.
Under the 287 (g) program, local police can make immigration arrests and detain people for immigration violations under specific agreements. Florida officials say many local agencies are still waiting for federal training. However, the latest U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests, part of what the agency calls "Operation Tidal Wave," show how state and local roles may grow.
On Thursday, DeSantis was joined by officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to tout an operation that authorities say netted hundreds of immigration arrests in less than a week. it involved about 80 state troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol and targeted people in Jacksonville, Orlando and Tallahassee, as well as in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
Authorities targeted people who faced final deportation orders and detained others on outstanding arrest warrants for previous offenses, like driving under the influence or without a license, Bill Smith, president of FHP's chapter of the Florida Police Benevolent Association, said.
"Since January 20th, President Trump has made a commitment to the American people to prioritize public safety, as well as national security. Everything we do at ICE is to prioritize those things. This operation really is a historic marker of success that was made possible because of the partnership with the state of Florida, allowing us to activate our 287 (g) officers and activating over 250 local and state law enforcement, as well as National Guard, to assist our federal partners," U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Deputy Director Madison Sheahan said.
Sheahan said while this may be the first 287 (g) operation of its kind, thanks to DeSantis, it will not be the last. She said the Trump administration is committed to large scale operations like this to help keep America's communities safe.
"I want to highlight some of the historic arrests made by our 287 (g) partners. A Brazilian national that has a history of aggravated assault. We have a Mexican national whose history includes kidnapping, and we also have Colombian nationals who were convicted of murder, that we were able to take off the street thanks to the men and women of ICE, our federal partners, as well as our state and local officers," Sheahan said.
DeSantis blamed the Biden administration for opening the southern border and declared that people could come illegally. He said this impacted communities across the country, including Florida.
The governor said state was on the front lines of undocumented immigration crackdowns during the last four years. He said with the election of President Trump, who campaigned on border security and immigration enforce, they saw an opportunity to have a much different relationship with the federal government as it related to immigration.
"There have been a lot of great enforcement efforts leading up to Operation Tidal Wave, but this has been the first of its kind throughout the Unite States. This is the largest immigration enforcement operation that we've seen in quite some time throughout the entire country. Florida state agencies assisted federal authorities to arrest over 1,100 illegal aliens across the state. That is a really significant impact and we're demonstrating why we are going to continue to lead on this issue," DeSantis said.
Some immigrant advocates said most arrests were by local police officers and state highway patrol troopers, not ICE. People were detained during traffic stops or when leaving work. Some had no criminal records and were seeking asylum, or had work permits, advocates said.
One family suddenly torn apart
Jessica Ramírez, general coordinator at the Florida Farm Workers Association, said that most of those arrested were men. In some cases, though not many, ICE officials knocked on the door of immigrants' houses, she said.
"People are extremely afraid to go out and drive, afraid of the police," said Ramírez. "The recommendation is to drive carefully, follow the rules, and not give the police a reason to stop them."
Chica, a 25-year-old Guatemalan woman who asked to be identified only by her first name for fear of being detained, said her partner Fernando, the father of her 3-month-old baby, was detained Friday morning as he was riding in a car with three other immigrants to his construction job. Chica hasn't heard from him since.
"Honey, the police caught us," Fernando, a 20-year-old Guatemalan, texted her Friday at 7:47 a.m.
Chica said he had a pending asylum application and a work permit. Police asked the driver of the car to show his license, but he did not have one. Officers then detained all four, including Fernando, who came to the U.S alone in 2020.
"I'm really worried. I can't believe they caught him," said Chica, who is now considering going back to Guatemala. "I'm afraid they'll deport him and I'll be left here without anyone's help."
Sheriff calls out federal government
Grady Judd, the sheriff of Polk County in central Florida, called the operation a "drop in the bucket" and voiced frustration with what he called the federal government's inability to carry out arrests and removals on a larger scale.
"The reason I think that they were focusing on those ready for deportation is there's no place to put volumes of people," Judd said. "We're eager to cooperate with them. But it's a federal government system and process. And it's not changing very rapidly."
