They call it “Operation Tidal Wave,” and it is a coordinated effort between Florida law enforcement and ICE to arrest and remove illegal migrants in the state. In the “largest joint immigration enforcement operation in ICE’s history,” Operation Tidal Wave has arrested more than 10,000 illegal aliens in Florida since it was launched last April. Of those arrested, more than 3,400 were from Guatemala, 3,300 from Mexico, and 1,300 from Honduras.
The basis of the state-federal partnership is Section 287(g), an addition to the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which authorizes ICE to “delegate state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform specified immigration officer functions under ICE’s direction and oversight.”
Making the announcement, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he is seeking ways to expand the partnerships to include non-law-enforcement agencies, such as the Department of Lottery. As it stands, there are already 300 agencies in the state partnering with ICE to remove illegals.
DeSantis said in his announcement:
What we’ve done has been effective. When we set out to do something we’re going to make sure to be able to deliver results on that. These are great results and I think they’re going to get even better going forward. The tempo has picked up. We know at each one of those facilities, the federal government has stationed an immigration judge.
The facilities referred to are the Deportation Depot at Baker Correctional Institute in northern Florida and Alligator Alcatraz in the Everglades.
For more, see MSN News.