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Twelve individuals —including several Cubans— were detained during a joint Immigration Control operation in the Florida Keys, as confirmed by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Air and Marine Operations.
The action took place on November 21, as detailed by Miami Herald. Individuals arrested were in the United States without immigration authorization and came from countries such as Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, and Guatemala, according to the official statement.
The detainees were transferred to the Border Patrol station in Marathon, in the Middle Keys, where they are facing deportation proceedings.
None of the cases were yet appearing in the federal judicial records at the time the report was finalized.
The operation included a Blackhawk helicopter and road checkpoints.
A witness told the Miami Herald that the agents stopped vehicles in the southbound lanes of US 1, near mile marker 105, in front of the Winn-Dixie supermarket in Key Largo, in the morning hours.
According to CBP, all those arrested had prior charges or convictions, including: reentry after deportation, driving under the influence of alcohol, illegal possession of a concealed weapon, possession of drugs with a weapon, assault, and domestic violence.
The authorities did not specify how many of those arrested were Cubans, but confirmed that several were part of the group.
Since the tightening of immigration policies under the Trump administration, ICE and Border Patrol operations have increased in frequency and scope in Florida.
In mid-November, in Florida, more than 200 undocumented foreign criminals, many of them sexual predators of minors, from Cuba and other countries, were arrested in Florida during “Operation Dirtbag,” carried out jointly by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).
The "Dirtbag Operation," officially called "Criminal Return Operation," lasted for 10 days and resulted in the arrest of at least 230 illegal immigrants with serious criminal backgrounds, including sex offenders, authorities from ICE and the Florida police announced in a press conference this Thursday.
The operation resulted in the arrest of 54 sexual predators, 164 sex offenders, two convicted murderers, one individual convicted of drug trafficking, and eight individuals charged with other serious crimes, reported Madison Sheahan, Deputy Director of ICE.
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