ICE raids, mass deportation 'new normal' in Florida and the nation
"The techniques, the methods ... will be the standard that our brother and sister states apply in the effort," he said.
At the lectern, Keefe showed off a 37-page document that he called the "Florida blueprint" to mass deportation. The State of Florida Immigration Enforcement Operations Plan, he said, will be the "prototype."
"Operation Tidal Wave" was a week-long sting by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Florida law enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security that targeted areas with high-immigrant populations. It led to the arrest of more than 1,100 people, include a man who had no known criminal record and had recently played Jesus in his church's Easter play.
According to records reviewed by the Miami Herald, authorities aimed to detain 800 people in Miami-Dade and Broward counties and the cities of Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Stuart, Tallahassee and Fort Myers.
On May 9, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation that established "Project Homecoming": "Either leave the United States voluntarily, with the support and financial assistance of the federal government, or remain and face the consequences," the proclamation states.
And the proclamation states that, on July 8, the Secretary of Homeland Security "shall supplement existing enforcement and removal operations by deputizing and contracting with State and local law enforcement officers, former federal officers, officers and personnel within other federal agencies, and other individuals to increase the enforcement and removal operations force of the Department of Homeland Security by no less than 20,000 officers in order to conduct an intensive campaign to remove illegal aliens who have failed to depart voluntarily."
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Director Dave Kerner said 1,800 Florida Highway Patrol troopers are credentialed with 287(g) enforcement authority and Florida's law enforcement already makes up 10% of the 20,000 officers mentioned in the proclamation.
"If you see a state trooper, he or she has federal authority to detain, investigate, apprehend and deport," Kerner said. The Florida Highway Patrol has assisted or has been the primary arresting agency in over 1,020 immigrants who were in the country illegally, he added.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, also at the Tampa event, said Florida is leading the country but other states need to do more: "There may be a lot of somersaults along the way by some of these guys; there may be some gnashing of teeth for some people in the process, but I imagine we're going to land basically where we need to land as a state," he said.
Ana Goni-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network - Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@gannett.com.
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Reuters
8 hours ago
- Reuters
National Guard deployed in Los Angeles amid protests against immigration raids
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Rhyl Journal
9 hours ago
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South Wales Argus
9 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
National Guard arrives in LA on Trump's orders to quell immigration protests
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Despite objections from California governor Gavin Newsom, the White House announced Mr Trump would deploy the Guard to 'address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester'. Mr Newsom, a Democrat, said in a post on the social platform X the move is 'purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions'. He later said the federal government wants a spectacle and urged people not to give them one by becoming violent. Law enforcement in riot gear during a protest in Compton, California (Ethan Swope/AP) In a signal of the administration's aggressive approach, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to deploy the US military. 'If violence continues, active-duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized – they are on high alert,' Mr Hegseth said on X. Mr Trump's order came after clashes in Paramount and neighbouring Compton, where a car was set on fire. Protests continued into the evening in Paramount, with several hundred demonstrators gathered near a doughnut shop, and authorities holding up barbed wire to keep the crowd back. Crowds also gathered again outside federal buildings in central Los Angeles, including a detention centre, where local police declared an unlawful assembly and began to arrest people. Police detain a man during a protest in Paramount (Eric Thayer/AP) Earlier in Paramount, immigration officers faced off with demonstrators at the entrance to a business park, across from the back of a Home Depot. They set off fireworks and pulled shopping carts into the street, broke up cinder blocks and pelted a procession of Border Patrol vans as they departed and careened down a boulevard. US attorney Bill Essayli said federal agents made more arrests of people with deportation orders on Saturday, but none were at the Home Depot. The Department of Homeland Security has a building next door and agents were staging there as they prepared to carry out operations, he said on Fox11 Los Angeles. He did not say how many people were arrested Saturday or where. Paramount mayor Peggy Lemons told multiple news outlets that community members showed up in response because people are fearful about activity by immigration agents. 'When you handle things the way that this appears to be handled, it's not a surprise that chaos would follow,' she said. Some demonstrators jeered at officers while recording the events on smartphones. 'ICE out of Paramount. We see you for what you are,' a woman said through a megaphone. 'You are not welcome here.' A protester throws a rock while surrounded by tear gas from law enforcement during a demonstration in Paramount on Saturday (Eric Thayer/AP) More than a dozen people were arrested and accused of impeding immigration agents, Mr Essayli posted on X, including the names and mugshots of some of those arrested. He did not say where they were protesting. Mr Trump federalised part of California's National Guard under what is known as Title 10 authority, which places him, not the governor, top of the chain of command, according to Mr Newsom's office. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement the work the immigration authorities were doing when met with protests is 'essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States'. She added: 'In the wake of this violence, California's feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens.' The president's move came shortly after he issued a threat on his social media network saying that if Mr Newsom and Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass did not 'do their jobs', then 'the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!' Mr Newsom said in his statement that local authorities 'are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment's notice', and that 'there is currently no unmet need'. The California Highway Patrol said Mr Newsom had directed it to deploy additional officers to 'maintain public safety'. Ms Bass said: 'We certainly want to make the opportunities available for people to exercise their First Amendment rights, but the minute that things turn to violence… that is not acceptable and people are going to be held accountable.'
