(The Center Square contributor) – A multi-agency operation led to the arrest of 400 illegal foreign nationals in central Florida in a weeklong targeted operation.
Those arrested have criminal records including driving under the influence, narcotics possession, assault, battery, molestation, domestic violence, prostitution among others. Everyone taken into custody is subject to removal proceedings.
They also include those who illegally entered the country as gotaways – those who illegally entered to evade capture. More than two million gotaways were believed to have illegally entered the country under the Biden administration, The Center Square exclusively reported.
Those arrested also include those who were previously deported, have final removal orders from a federal immigration judge and have outstanding criminal warrants.
The operation was led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Miami in partnership with Florida Highway Patrol, the sheriff’s offices of Polk and Brevard counties, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Florida National Guard, and other 287(g) partners.
Under Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida is leading the U.S. with the greatest number of entities that have 287(g) partnerships with ICE, The Center Square reported.
Florida has the most 287(g) agreements, 327, a 577% increase since Jan. 20, ICE said.
The 287(g) program is named after the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1996, 8 USC 1357, Section 287(g)(1), which authorizes ICE to delegate to state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform specified immigration functions under ICE’s direction and supervision. Local law enforcement officers can apply to participate in the Jail Enforcement Model (JEM), Task Force Model (TFM) and Warrant Service Officer (WSO) model, The Center Square reported.
The targeted arrests are the latest among several thousand made by local law enforcement and ICE statewide in the last few months.
“The days of allowing illegal aliens to disregard our laws and pose a threat to our communities, our roads, and our economy are over,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Miami Field Office Director Garrett Ripa said. “Many of these individuals illegally remained in Florida and have gone on to wreak havoc in our local neighborhoods. This weeklong joint 287(g) operation focused on targeting those threats to public safety. This successful operation is a testament to the 287(g) program the great partnerships we have here in the state of Florida. Together, we are making Florida safe!”
The operation underscores the importance of collaboration among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to address public safety challenges, ICE Miami said.
ICE highlighted the worst offenders, all men illegally in the country and citizens of Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.
They include Guatemalan national Pedro Juan Andres, a gotaway, whose criminal history includes resisting arrest with violence and burglary, ICE said; and Honduran nationals Walhter Ramiro Hernandez-Ortiz and Carlos Roberto Ordonez-Rodriguez. Their criminal history includes lewd and lascivious behavior, battery, and molestation of victim under 12 years old;, ICE said; and traffic violations in two states and a conviction for illegal reentry, respectively. Rodriguez was previously deported from Texas by ICE Air Operation in 2014, ICE said.
Mexican nationals arrested include Juan Carlos Hernandez-Reyes, whose criminal history includes domestic violence, driving under the influence, battery, disorderly conduct, and prostitution, ICE said; Ubaldino Hernandez-Hernandez, whose criminal history includes arrests for hit and run, multiple infractions of operating a motor vehicle without valid license, probation violation, and reckless driving, ICE said; Mario Suarez-Maya, whose criminal history includes two arrests for driving under the influence, three arrests for driving without a license, and providing a false name to a law enforcement officer, ICE said; and Yoni Mendez-Lopez, whose criminal history includes resisting an officer, battery on a law enforcement officer, assault on a law enforcement officer, no valid driver’s license, and attempting to flee to elude a law enforcement officer, ICE said.
They also include Mexican nationals who illegally entered as gotaways, who were previously removed from the U.S. and who have final removal orders.
They include Edgar Rivera-Salinas, previously removed from the U.S., whose criminal history includes larceny, theft, and marijuana possession, ICE said; David Dorantes Martinez, with a final removal order whose criminal history includes domestic violence and battery, ICE said; Aurelio Hernandez-Hernandez, a gotaway, whose criminal history includes driving under the influence and multiple traffic offenses, ICE said; and Efrain Santos-Palacios, a gotaway, whose criminal history includes driving under the influence, hit and run, and driving without a license, ICE said.
