Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities are conducting in collaboration with Florida state police a large-scale operation. Aimed at detaining approximately 800 undocumented immigrants residing in the state this week, according to the Miami Herald.
The operation led by the Department of Homeland Security, known as Operation Black Tide, began Monday and will continue through Saturday, the newspaper reported.
Raids are reportedly taking place in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, and in the cities of Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Stuart, Tallahassee, and Fort Myers. According to documents cited by the newspaper.
So far, it is unclear how many people have been detained by immigration authorities as of Wednesday. Records do not detail how the federal government selected its targets. However, they do indicate that authorities are attempting to detain “criminals or immigration violators” with final deportation orders.
Florida, led by Governor Ron DeSantis, has become one of the main partners of President Donald Trump’s administration and its mass deportation plan.
In February, DeSantis signed two sweeping laws that toughen conditions for undocumented immigrants and facilitate the implementation of the U.S. president’s immigration agenda in the state.
The measures establish harsher penalties for undocumented immigrants who commit crimes, stricter law enforcement requirements for local officials, and changes to the state’s controversial migrant transportation program.
Florida has given its police the power to question residents’ legal status. However, this measure has drawn criticism for the potential racial profiling it may generate.
Since President Donald Trump began his second term, nearly 230 Florida law enforcement agencies have signed 287(g) agreements—over 130 of which are currently active—based on the task force model, allowing officers to question, arrest, and detain individuals suspected of violating federal immigration laws.
One example of this was the arrest last week of Juan Carlos López Gómez, 20, a U.S. citizen who was detained by a Florida Highway Patrol officer for allegedly being undocumented.
The young man was detained while traveling as a passenger in a vehicle entering the state from Georgia.
López Gómez had to appear before a judge and was not released until his mother presented his birth certificate.
Image: Reporting from EFE and Miami Herald.
