MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts are in full swing, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducting raids across the country, including South Florida.
Surveillance video released by Homeland Security Investigations on Tuesday shows officers and agents detaining individuals in handcuffs over the past week as part of these operations.
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According to the Miami Field Office of ICE, the crackdown is prioritizing criminals, but individuals without criminal records who have orders of removal may also be picked up.
The White House has made it clear that anyone without legal documentation is subject to deportation.
“If you are an individual, a foreign national who illegally enters the United States of America, you are by definition a criminal, and so therefore you are subject to deportation,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
The administration prioritizes criminal offenders, with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem citing arrests of gang members and rapists.
“We’re in New York City this morning and we’re getting the dirtbags off these streets,” said Noem.
Meanwhile, South Florida schools are bracing for potential arrests.
Anna Fusco, the Broward Teachers Union President, emphasized that schools will follow the rules and cooperate with the law.
“I really think they’re going to handle it under the rules that we have, and we’re going to listen and ask our general counsel, and they’re going to abide by the law, but they’re not just going to hand over anything,” she said.
At a Home Depot in southwest Miami-Dade, day laborers expressed their fears about the future.
“I’m afraid to be deported. I can’t go back to Nicaragua,” a man told Local 10′s Janine Stanwood. “I got into a bad fight back in 2018 where I was shot at, and I’m afraid to return.”
ICE officials stated that those arrested in South Florida will be processed based on their legal and criminal status.
Some individuals may have hearings and receive due process, while others could face immediate deportation.
Arrestees are being held at detention facilities throughout South Florida, reflecting a key component of Trump’s promise to crack down on illegal immigration.
While Homeland Security investigations and ICE officials have not released specific arrest numbers for South Florida, law enforcement sources say these raids will continue with no set end date.