The Brief Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hosted a press conference with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials on Thursday. At the event, DeSantis announced the results of the largest immigration operation in Florida history.
Authorities said more than 1,100 undocumented immigrants, including several violent gang members, were arrested in the first-of-its-kind "Operation Tidal Wave." Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials announced on Thursday the arrest of more than 1,100 people – touted as the largest immigration operation in the state's history.
"Operation Tidal Wave" targeted alleged illegal immigrants with orders of removal, including several violent gang members, DeSantis and ICE leaders said. Watch the press conference in the player above. Florida immigration enforcement The backstory: Immigration enforcement has become a top priority for President Donald Trump and his administration – and Gov.
Ron DeSantis has made that a priority for the state as well. Several state agencies, including the Florida Highway Patrol and Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, have signed agreements with ICE, allowing them to help with immigration enforcement on behalf of the federal government. Gov.
DeSantis has also signed several new bills into law, which make it a state crime to enter Florida illegally or undocumented. DeSantis said Florida now has the "toughest" state laws on immigration enforcement in the U.S. The bills – part of a large immigration package and after a brief squabble between DeSantis and state Republicans – eliminate in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants, make it a state crime to enter Florida undocumented and mandate an "automatic death penalty" for immigrants convicted of murder, among other provisions.
Operation Tidal Wave What we know: During Operation Tidal Wave, Gov. DeSantis said more than 1,100 undocumented immigrants were arrested throughout Florida, including several violent gang members. Those arrested include a Brazilian national with a history of assault, a Mexican national with a history of kidnapping and Columbian nationals convicted of murder, he said.
Gov. DeSantis was joined by ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan, State Board of Immigration Enforcement Executive Director Larry Keefe and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Chief Patrol Agent Jeffrey Dinise at a Thursday mooring press conference at the ICE-ERO Center in Miramar, Florida. Sheahan said the operation will go down in history as the most single arrests made by a state in a single week that ICE has ever had.
Authorities said the arrests were made possible through the activation of more than 250 local and state enforcement officials to assist ICE's federal partners. ‘Historic marker of success’ What they're saying: ICE officials called the first-of-its-kind operation a "historic marker of success." They said the operation is just the beginning, and it will not be the last.
"We will not stop until our American families and every day Americans are safe in their own communities, because we have zero tolerance for criminal, illegal aliens," Sheahan said. "The United States of America is serious about enforcing its immigration laws," DeSantis said. "We've had the largest drop in border crossings in American history during President Trump's first 100 days.
We're ready, willing and able to take this to the next level. " The other side: Critics have Trump's immigration enforcement have challenged several measures in court – arguments that are still making their way through the court system, including the decision to deport people to countries outside the U.S. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 35 ORLANDO:
