A group of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, armed and in uniform, stood for more than two hours in front of a building in Pensacola Beach, Florida, demanding that four Hispanic workers repairing a roof damaged by Hurricane Isaias come down.
The incident occurred on Tuesday, October 13, at The Grand Marlin, a well-known establishment in Pensacola Beach, according to local broadcaster WEAR-TV (ABC 3).
The presence of the agents was captured in a video recorded by a witness who came to the scene to assist the workers.
According to testimonies gathered by the media, the agents arrived in uniforms and identified themselves as police while demanding that the workers come down from the roof.
Some of the workers stayed up until the agents finally left the area. The meeting concluded with no arrests reported.
Eric McKnight, friend of the workers and witness to what happened, explained that the men were scared and did not want to come down. "They were afraid. They said they weren't going to come down," he told the television station.
The witness stated that the workers called him to come help them with the translation. He also brought them water and his documentation.
People close to the workers stated that they had their documents in order.
McKnight recorded part of the encounter with his cell phone and stated that the agents left after he and other individuals present explicitly mentioned that it was an immigration matter.
"As soon as we said that word, it was like a switch was flipped," declared the witness, who described a hasty exit by the agents.
The operation took place while construction workers were involved in the recovery efforts at Pensacola Beach following the passage of Hurricane Isaias, which had caused damage in the northwest of Florida.
The Grand Marlin confirmed to WEAR-TV that they were aware of the incident and explained that they had hired a local roofing company, with which they maintained a long-standing business relationship, to repair the damage sustained by their facilities.
The establishment explicitly acknowledged that the meeting involved the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE, although it refrained from providing further details.
It also stated that it remained open and operating normally while keeping its focus on the employees, customers, and the community affected by the hurricane.
According to McKnight, his friends had planned to return to work, but they probably would not go back to doing their jobs at The Grand Marlin after what happened.
The incident raised concerns among representatives of the Hispanic community in northwest Florida, especially since it occurred amid the reconstruction efforts following the natural disaster.
Grace Resendez McCaffrey, owner and editor of the newspaper La Costa Latina, indicated that she had received calls from family members of the workers, concerned about the possibility that their loved ones would not return home.
"We are in a disaster situation, trying to recover from a terrible catastrophe. We need everyone's help to rebuild," he expressed.
Resendez McCaffrey also urged the community to convey their concerns to state legislators and demand that such interventions be avoided during recovery efforts.
“We do not want people who are simply trying to help rebuild to be harassed from the rooftops,” he stated.
The television station also asked Republican congressman Jimmy Patronis if he was aware of immigration operations during the recovery efforts following the hurricane.
Patronis responded that he had not personally witnessed those interventions and explained that he had focused his attention on restoring services and infrastructure.
The presence of ICE at a repair site following a hurricane raises questions about the impact of immigration controls on sectors that rely on immigrant labor, particularly construction, maintenance, and the recovery of properties damaged by weather events.
Florida has experienced an increase in immigration operations and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities.
Between March 2025 and April 2026, the Miami Sector of the Border Patrol recorded 12,599 immigrant arrests, accounting for 10% of the 125,199 apprehensions counted nationwide during that period.
In the same context, the ICE office in Miami recorded 41,310 detentions between January 2025 and April 2026, with an average of approximately 120 arrests daily, according to the figures published at that time.
The intensification of these operations has also raised concern about their potential economic consequences, particularly in activities with a significant presence of foreign labor.
A report released in August by America's Voice linked the decrease of immigrant workers to increased costs and job losses in various sectors across the United States.
The study cited, among other indicators, a 5% drop in employment in construction in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, and warned about the effects that immigration operations can have on industries such as construction, agriculture, landscaping, and hospitality.
The consequences are also felt among small businesses in Florida. Representatives of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce reported that sales at certain establishments in Doral, Miami, and Homestead had dropped by as much as 45%, a situation they attributed to the fear caused by immigration raids.
Este tipo de operativos de ICE en lugares de trabajo se ha vuelto cada vez más frecuente en distintos estados. Sigue todos los detalles sobre arrestos, redadas y derechos migratorios en nuestra sección de
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