Florida has become the epicenter of an unprecedented migration offensive, to the point that 36% of the immigrants arrested in June by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had no prior criminal record or charges against them, according to official data analyzed by the University of California, Berkeley Deportation Data Project.
The figure, which triples the proportion recorded just two months earlier, confirms a radical shift in the approach to migration operations under Donald Trump's administration, and has led to a surge in complaints regarding arbitrary detentions, chaos in migrant communities, and precarious conditions in detention centers, reports Axios.
Since May, following an executive order that imposed a minimum quota of 3,000 daily arrests, ICE has intensified operations in neighborhoods, workplaces, and residential areas. The region of the ICE field office in Miami, which covers Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, has particularly reflected this change.
In June, more than 1 in 3 detainees had no criminal history, compared to 21% reported in April. Nationwide, the proportion of arrests without prior records reached 47% that same month.
"Now, any undocumented migrant is targeted, regardless of whether they have a criminal record or not," denounced David Bier of the Cato Institute. According to the expert, this strategy has created "chaos in the streets" and has undermined the public support for the Republican immigration policy.
Florida: epicenter of the raids
So far in 2025, ICE has made more than 10,800 arrests in Florida, a jump of 200% compared to the previous year.
Seven cities account for the majority of activity in the state. They are Miami, Tallahassee, Orlando, Jacksonville, Fort Myers, Stuart, and Tampa, many of which have strong cooperation between local and federal authorities through the 287(g) agreements, allowing state police to act as immigration agents.
Furthermore, Florida leads the nation with 295 of these agreements, which represents 43% of the national total, a key factor in the wave of arrests.
The large volume of arrests has overwhelmed detention centers. In facilities like Krome North in Miami or Alligator Alcatraz, an improvised camp in the Everglades, migrants report lack of medical care, insufficient food, and overcrowding.
The Pinellas County jail quadrupled the number of people detained under ICE orders in two years. At one point, 220 people were sleeping on the floor, the local sheriff acknowledged.
Cubans in the Spotlight
Cubans are not escaping this new onslaught. More than 42,000 are under final deportation orders in the U.S., and hundreds remain on supervised release or in detention centers in Louisiana and New Mexico.
Only in the month of July, 118 Cubans were deported to Havana, marking the seventh official flight of the year from U.S. territory. Three of them were handed over directly to State Security due to alleged offenses committed prior to their departure from the country.
Since Trump's return to the White House in January, his administration has resumed mass deportation flights to Cuba and eliminated relief mechanisms such as the humanitarian parole and CBP One, leaving thousands in legal limbo.
ICE has reported 150,000 deportations so far this year to various countries around the world, but the federal goal is much more ambitious, aiming for one million before the end of 2025.
If the current pace continues, this year will be the most active since the Obama administration, although with a harsher nuance because the priority is not criminals, but the volume.
"The war against undocumented individuals is advancing without brakes or filters," Bier warned. In this crossfire, thousands of families, many of whom are Cuban, live in constant fear, not knowing if their next day at work, medical appointment, or grocery shopping could end in detention and subsequent deportation.
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