Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the detention of more than 1,100 criminal migrants in a state-wide sweep, dubbed Operation Tidal Wave.
The campaign “sends the message going forward: the United States of America is serious about enforcing its immigration law,” DeSantis declared
ICE released a follow-up report revealing the number of criminal illegals taken into custody, including 437 criminals from Guatemala, 280 from Mexico, 153 from Honduras, 48 from Venezuela, 24 from El Salvador, and 178 from elsewhere.
Many of those taken into custody last week are identified gang members.
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Those arrested include Ciro Ramon Castaneda Perez and Carlos Eduardo Perez Perez, both of whom are Tren de Aragua gang members; MS-13 gangbanger Rafael Juarez Cabrera; Luis Melito Gonzalez Arrellanno, who belongs to Mexico’s Brown Pride Aztecas gang; 18th Street Gang member Aron Isaak Morazan Izaguirre; and Miguel Rodriguez Gonzalez, a member of the Barrio Azteca gang.
DeSantis also warned on X last week that “Operation Tidal Wave is an example of FL and DHS partnering to deliver big results on immigration enforcement and deportations”:
State Board of Immigration Enforcement Executive Director Larry Keefe added that this is no mere publicity move but will be an ongoing program.
“It’s not just going to be a succession of surges and operations and press conferences. This is going to be a sustained, persistent effort,” Keefe said during Thursday’s presser.
ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan also warned that illegal immigration is a crime.
“If you enter this country illegally, you are a criminal,” Sheahan said. “You will be deported, you will have the opportunity to be able to come back into this country through the correct immigration processes. We’re working through those every single day, but our number-one goal is to keep the American people safe from the criminals who are walking in this country who never should have been let through in the first place.”
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DeSantis also said he has asked the federal government to allow the Florida National Guard to serve as immigration judges to help in the federal government’s deportation efforts.
“We have both a National Guard and a state guard, who are used to responding to different types of contingencies. We’re ready, willing and able to take it to the next level,” DeSantis said Thursday. “We have submitted plans to DHS to say, you know, if this is approved, we will go off to the races and we will be able to do really from soup to nuts.”
“From apprehension to detention, even putting some of our people in the National Guard in line to be serve as immigration judges to process this,” he added. “We can do it. And I’d also say you hear a lot about due process. We have tens of thousands of illegal aliens in Florida at a minimum that have already been issued final orders of removal.”
DeSantis also said he hopes to expand detention facilities in the state.
“If we get the sign off from DHS, we can expand detention space very quickly in Florida,” DeSantis said. “I mean, just think about it. I mean, you guys who are Florida based, you know when we have hurricanes, we end up setting up locations for tens of thousands of linemen, right? Do that very, very quickly. So we have the capacity to set it up quickly, but we’re not going to do that without the approval of the Department of Homeland Security.”
“Last week’s operational success of arresting more than 1,100 criminal illegal aliens was truly a collaborative whole-of-government effort by our federal, state and local law enforcement partners in Florida,” ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan said in a statement. “Every day, our officers take to the streets and put their lives on the line to apprehend and remove dangerous criminal aliens, transnational gang members and foreign fugitives who have illegally entered the U.S. We are united in our determination to restore integrity to our nation’s immigration system and enhance public safety for all Americans.”
The state of Florida leads the nation with 287(g) partnerships. This force-multiplying program is named for Section 287(g)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which authorizes ICE to delegate specified immigration officer functions to state and local law enforcement officials under the agency’s direction and supervision.
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“I’ve insisted that Florida be the tip of the spear when it comes to state support of federal immigration enforcement. The success of Operation Tidal Wave is proof of our commitment,” DeSantis added in the ICE press release. “Florida is proud to work closely with the Trump administration and help deliver on the 2024 mandate from America that our borders be secured and our immigration laws be followed. We will continue to engage in broad interior enforcement efforts. Thank you to DHS, ICE, CBP, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Highway Patrol, and Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Commission, Florida National Guard, Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, and everyone involved for your contributions to this effort.”
“Dangerous criminals have no place in our country. We will apply CBP’s collective intelligence and operational capabilities to target those here illegally who endanger our citizens and the American way of life,” added Miami Sector Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Jeffrey Dinise. “Collaborative enforcement efforts such as Operation Tidal Wave, with our DHS and state of Florida law enforcement partners, leverages each of our unique authorities to protect against threats. We look forward to continuing the vital partnership with the State of Florida as we all work toward our shared goal of keeping our communities safe and our nation secure.”
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