MIAMI —U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested an undocumented immigrant in Florida after discovering a crucial detail on his driver’s license.
The arrest occurred amid operations launched by several federal agencies in support of the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans.
While the new government’s promise is to expel violent criminals from the United States, official reports include arrests for a variety of crimes.
Driving without a valid license: Undocumented immigrants face arrest and deportation risk
ICE Miami, with support from the Jacksonville sub-office, reported the arrest of a Salvadorean citizen who was illegally present in the United States, and did not have a valid driver’s license.
The agency stated on social media Monday that the immigrant was “arrested for operating a motor vehicle without valid driver’s license and possession of a counterfeit driver license.”
On the same day, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) warned that it was “equipped and hard at work to enforce illegal immigration laws in Florida,” shortly after Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed his intentions to strongly support Trump’s policies.
FHP has launched a joint operation with federal partners at Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Tallahassee and resulted in the arrest of “12 individuals who were believed to be illegally residing in the State of Florida.”
“We are ready and willing to follow the governor’s lead and work with federal partners to execute the Trump illegal immigration mandate!” FHP posted.
Mass deportations: What illegal immigrants face under Trump’s immigration crackdown
Just one week into Trump’s second term, the figures for deportations of foreigners with criminal records have been staggering, in line with the president’s promises.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed that more than 7,000 undocumented immigrants were detained and deported after the Republican leader took office on Jan. 20.
Trump’s policies also put at risk a large group of people who legally entered the U.S. legally under Biden administration programs such as humanitarian parole.
Another of the president’s latest immigration decisions was to rescind an extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 600,000 Venezuelans, which allowed them to remain in the U.S.
By MAYKEL GONZALEZ/Miami Herald
