12-05-2025
ICE-Florida immigrant arrests top 1,100, set record. What countries the people are from
ICE-Florida immigrant arrests top 1,100, set record. What countries the people are from
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Gov. Ron DeSantis holds immigration press event in Palm Beach County
Gov. Ron DeSantis holds immigration Palm Beach County press event with Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, State Rep. Mike Caruso and FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass
ICE and Florida law enforcement arrested 1,120 people during "Operation Tidal Wave," the largest joint immigration operation in Florida history.
The operation involved collaboration with numerous local law enforcement agencies under the 287(g) program.
Those arrested originated from various countries, including Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local law enforcement arrested 1,120 people in Florida during a massive six-day sweep, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced.
The effort that took place from April 21 through April 26, nicknamed "Operation Tidal Wave," was the largest joint immigration operation in Florida history and the largest number in a single state in one week in ICE's history, DeSantis said in a prepared statement on May 1.
As many as 250 local and state law enforcement and National Guard resources were deployed, according to ICE deputy director Madison Sheahan at a May 1 news conference with federal immigration officials in a federal facility in southwest Broward County, under the authority of the 287(g) program. This ICE initiative allows local law enforcement agencies to help "identify and remove criminal aliens who are amenable to removal from the U.S."
"This operation really is a historic marker of success that was made possible because of the partnership with the state of Florida," Sheehan said.
Sheehan and DeSantis stressed during the press conference that 63% of the "criminal illegal aliens" were people with existing criminal arrests or convictions and listed notable arrests such as a Brazilian with a "history" of aggravated assault, a Mexican "whose history" includes kidnapping and a Colombian convicted of murder.
Shock and anger: Florida immigrant communities react to 'Operation Tidal Wave'
How many people were arrested in Florida in the ICE Operation Tidal Wave?
According to DeSantis and federal officials, 1,120 people were arrested, including 378 with final orders of removal issued by an immigration judge.
"Officers arrested various violent offenders, gang members, sex offenders, fugitives from justice and those who pose significant public safety threats," DeSantis said in a press release. The count also included members of foreign gangs and terrorist organizations such as MS-13, Tren de Aragua, Brown Pride Aztecas, Barrio Azteca, Surenos (sur-13) and 18th Street Gang, he said.
"We will not stop until our American families and everyday Americans are safe in their own communities because we have zero tolerance for criminal illegal aliens," Sheahan said.
When questioned about the other 27% of arrests for people without existing criminal arrests or convictions, Sheahan said that "everybody that is in this country illegally is a criminal," which could include people whose asylum cases and immigration claims are still being adjudicated.
Critics have also pointed to multiple instances reported of mistaken identities, random sweeps, U.S. citizens sent out of the country, and people detained and shipped out without any criminal charges filed, trials, or ways to appeal. The most well-known is Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was picked up and sent to a prison in El Salvador without due process and kept there despite orders from a federal court and the Supreme Court to bring him back.
On April 16, a Georgia native with an ID and Social Security card on him was arrested in Florida's Panhandle under a blocked Florida immigration law. The family of Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez presented his birth certificate to a judge, who agreed it was valid but said she had no power over his release. Lopez-Gomez was finally released after 30 hours in prison.
Which countries did the people arrested in Operation Tidal Wave come from?
The countries of origin of those arrested include the following, according to the governor's statement:
437 from Guatemala
280 from Mexico
153 from Honduras
48 from Venezuela
24 from El Salvador
178 from elsewhere
Where did ICE and Florida law enforcement arrest immigrants in Operation Tidal Wave?
Specifics of only a few arrests of people with criminal offenses were released, but ICE listed the following sheriff's offices as having provided "significant assistance to ICE" during the operation:
Alachua County
Baker County
Brandford County
Brevard County
Clay County
Hernando County
Hillsborough County
Indian River County
Orange County
Pinellas County
St. John's County
Sumter County
Volusia County
'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 said
Who is cooperating with ICE to find immigrants? What is the 287(g) program?
State and local law enforcement partners have also been enlisted to help with federal immigration enforcement through the 287(g) program, an ICE initiative that allows local law enforcement agencies to help "identify and remove criminal aliens who are amenable to removal from the U.S.," according to ICE.
"State troopers, local police officers, county sheriffs — they're our eyes and ears," Todd Lyons, the acting ICE director, told ABC News. "They encountered these criminal aliens out and about during their regular duties, and they're able to go ahead and identify those public safety threats for us."
Nearly 230 Florida law enforcement agencies, including sheriff's offices, city police departments and college and university campus police, have signed 287(g) agreements, the most out of any state in the nation, according to a joint report by the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times.
More than 130 of the currently active agreements are under the task force model, which allows law enforcement agencies to enforce limited immigration authority with ICE oversight, including questioning, arresting, and detaining people suspected of violating federal immigration laws.
