More than 150 migrants, including Mexican and Central American citizens, were detained during a joint three-day operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Florida authorities, according to immigration officials reported on Tuesday. The operation involved the Border Patrol and the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) as part of the '287(g)' agreements, which allow local authorities to collaborate on immigration activities, ICE stated on social media. '152 criminal illegal aliens apprehended in a three-day ICE operation in Florida. We deported 23 on just the second day, working with our 287(g) partners, like the Florida Highway Patrol and other state and local law enforcement agencies,' the post said. ICE published photos of four detainees, including a Mexican convicted of fraud, a Guatemalan suspected of child cruelty, a Honduran who spent eight years in prison for an armed assault, and another Honduran migrant accused of domestic violence. The agency stated the operation was to 'get criminals like these out of our neighborhoods,' though it did not specify which cities were involved. The operation comes hours after it was revealed that the Florida government spent $573 million from a fund designated for emergencies on immigration operations over the last three years, according to a report from Governor Ron DeSantis's administration sent to the state legislature and leaked to the press. DeSantis, who last week claimed that 'no other state has done more than Florida to advance immigration operations,' has required all local authorities to sign 287(g) agreements to cooperate with ICE in the arrest of migrants. He also noted that this has resulted in the arrest of 20,000 migrants in the last nine months in Florida, where he is pushing new legislation to further restrict migration, such as banning undocumented immigrants from sending remittances.
