Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and top ICE officials discuss the results of Operation Tidal Wave, the historic crackdown on illegal immigration in Florida.
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00:00For our principals that are here today, our ICE Deputy Director, Madison Sheehan,
00:06our Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, Larry Keefe, who is the Executive Director for the Board of
00:13Immigration Enforcement, and finally, Jeff Denisi, who is the Chief Patrol Agent in Charge
00:18for the Miami sector. Great opportunity to ask questions and to meet all these individuals.
00:25Again, it's been a historic event, and it's a commitment that we're all, together, we're
00:33working together to make sure we get this done correctly and how we've always been doing it.
00:37Again, the ICE mission statement continues to be to protect the homeland against those individuals
00:43who undermine the integrity of our immigration laws. This operation encapsulates that, and
00:50I'm very proud to be here, and I will now introduce our ICE Deputy Director, Madison Sheehan.
00:55Good morning, everyone. I'm Madison Sheehan, the ICE Deputy Director. It's really an honor
01:04to be able to be here today with all of you to highlight the success of this historic operation,
01:10Operation Tidal Wave, which was created in partnership with the state of Florida and ICE.
01:16Since January 20th, President Trump has made a commitment to the American people to prioritize
01:22public safety as well as national security. And everything we do at ICE is to prioritize
01:28those things. And this operation really is a historic marker of success that was made possible
01:36because of the partnership with the state of Florida, allowing us to activate our 287G officers
01:41and activating over 250 local and state law enforcement, as well as National Guard, to assist
01:49our federal partners. And I want to thank Governor DeSantis for his commitment to be able to put
01:55this operation on for the last week. And together, we are able to conduct over 1,100 arrests and remove
02:02several violent gang members from the communities here in Florida. Operation Tidal Wave is truly a first-of-its-kind
02:09operation, utilizing 287G resources, integrating with the state and local law enforcement to assist
02:18in the day-to-day ICE mission. While this may be the first 287G operation of its kind, thanks to the
02:25Governor, it's not going to be the last. President Trump, Secretary Noem, and ICE are committed to these
02:32large-scale operations to be able to keep our communities safe. Because we will not stop until our
02:39American families and everyday Americans are safe in their own communities because we have zero
02:45tolerance for criminal, illegal aliens. I want to also highlight some of the historic arrests that
02:51were made by our 287G partners, including a Brazilian national that has a history of aggregated assault.
02:59We have a Mexican national taken into custody whose history includes kidnapping. And we also have
03:04Colombian nationals who were convicted of murder that we were able to take off of the street thanks
03:11to the men and women of ICE, our federal partners, as well as our state and local officers who dedicate
03:18themselves every single day to keeping the American people and the people of Florida safe. I'd also like
03:24to thank our partners here at Operation Tidal Wave, including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement,
03:30the Florida Department of Emergency Management, the Florida Highway Patrol, the Florida National Guard,
03:36the Florida Sheriff's Association, as well as the Fish and Wildlife Commission, and their Department of
03:42Corrections, who all came to the table when we were at and met the moment that was asked of them,
03:48directed by Governor DeSantis working directly with ICE here in the state of Florida to create this historic
03:55partnership that will go down as the most single arrest done by a state in a single week that ICE
04:01has ever had leading up to that 1,100 arrests that we've been able to highlight over this last week.
04:07Truly a historic marker of a model that can be used not only here in the state of Florida for many
04:13operations to come, and I think the Governor would agree that this will not be the last one here in
04:18the state of Florida, but also a model that we're able to take to other states to make it a priority that
04:23the President has kept to the American people to make sure our communities are safe and continue to be
04:30safe. I'd also like to thank our federal partners, including CBP, the U.S. Coast Guard, ATF, DEA,
04:37the FBI, and the U.S. Marshals. This is truly an all-government approach set the tone by President
04:43Trump and Secretary Noem, and ICE is able to take the lead with these partners to be able to make this
04:49historic event and historic operation, Operation Tidal Wave, happen. Again, I'd like to thank Governor
04:55DeSantis for his continued support and commitment to the people of ICE and the people of America to
05:02be able to get this done. I'd also like to thank President Trump and Secretary Noem for their
05:07continued leadership and commitment to the American people. Thank you.
05:10All right, and moving on, our great Governor of Florida, Mr. Ron DeSantis.
05:22Well, thank you. Four years ago, we had seen something that we had never seen in American
05:27history. We had a President, Joe Biden, that opened the border and basically declared that people could
05:34come illegally. Interior enforcement was rendered basically null and void, and this was impacting
05:41not just the southern border and region of Texas or Arizona, but communities all across the country,
05:46including in the state of Florida. And so, four years ago, we were sending people to the southern
05:52border to help supplement state efforts to try to mitigate the damage. And our Operation Lone Star saw
05:59more than 1,000 national state guardsmen, state law enforcement officers go to Texas to assist the
06:06state of Texas in stopping this border invasion. We also, being a maritime state, we are vulnerable to
06:14having illegal boats coming and bringing illegal aliens onto our shores. This was particularly pressing
06:21when you had issues in Haiti bubble up even more, and there was a lot of issues that people thought
06:28was going to lead to a mass migration into the state of Florida. We launched Operation Vigilance
06:33Sentry. We deployed more than 250 officers and soldiers from Florida Division of Emergency Management,
06:40State Guard, and other state law enforcement agencies to patrol Florida's southern coast. That was
06:45supplementing what the Coast Guard is already doing, but because of our efforts, we were able to
06:51bring about more than 17,000 repatriations and almost 500 vessels removed since that time at the end of 2022.
07:01And we worked together with the Coast Guard on that, but that was in a huge, huge positive for us.
07:05Of course, our state efforts didn't end there. We were involved in illegal alien transport, similar to what Texas was doing,
07:13so that sanctuary jurisdictions were having to deal with the issues that the open border was bringing
07:19to other communities. And we were really on the front lines of that all four years of the Biden administration.
07:26Enter the 2024 election and the election of President Trump again. Border security and immigration
07:33enforcement was perhaps the signature issue of the president's first campaign in 2016 and this one,
07:40where he got re-elected. So, we saw an opportunity to have a much different relationship with the federal government
07:47as it relates to immigration enforcement. So, immediately, I instructed our state agencies to engage
07:55in what are called 287G agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which basically leads to
08:02our state agencies being able to exercise authority in the immigration sphere to supplement and cooperate with
08:10the federal government. And we know that ICE had a rough run under Biden for four years. A lot of the things,
08:16this 287G program was effectively dormant. Certainly, the task force model was dormant. So, we did that.
08:24So, you had Highway Patrol, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Fish and Wildlife, all those agencies
08:29signing agreements. And I think you now have, I read a blurb, that you have like 500 agencies,
08:35law enforcement agencies across the country, that now have these agreements with ICE. And about half of
08:40those are in Florida state and local, which we're really, really proud of. We're also, though, not just
08:47stopping with law enforcement. We've also done 287G agreements with regulatory agencies in Florida.
08:53Our Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Alcohol, Beverage and Tobacco,
08:59the Florida Gaming Control Commission, and the Florida Lottery all operate in what we would consider
09:04target-rich environments. During their routine inspection and investigative duties, special agents
09:10are oftentimes in contact with people who may be in our country illegally. So, we think deputizing
09:17those officers in regulatory spaces is going to be another source to lead to these immigration
09:23enforcement efforts. Now, when President Trump was preparing to take office, I called the special
09:28session of the Florida Legislature because I knew that we needed policy in Florida that would require
09:35all state and local agencies, law enforcement, to participate in these efforts. We're not a sanctuary
09:41state. We ban sanctuary cities. But that just means you can sit on your hands. Yeah, you can't sabotage
09:47the efforts, but you were under no obligation to be on the team. We had to battle some of the folks in
09:52the House of Representatives in Florida, but we were able to get that done. And so now,
09:57all 67 counties have 287G agreements with their sheriff's departments, and we're adding more and
10:04more police departments each and every day. So Florida's really led the effort there. Some of these
10:09agencies would have wanted to be a part of the fight. Others would have rather not have been part of
10:13the fight. But because of our legislation, they are all in fact a part of the fight. And this is
10:19something that's been really, really good. And there's been a lot of great enforcement efforts leading
10:23up to Operation Tidal Wave. But this has been the first of its kind throughout the United States.
10:30This is the largest immigration enforcement operation that we've seen in quite some time
10:36throughout the entire country. Florida state agencies assisted federal authorities to arrest over
10:421,100 illegal aliens across the state. That is a really significant impact. And we're demonstrating
10:50why we're going to continue to lead on this issue. And you see some of the people that were arrested
10:56there. These are people that should have never been in our country. Some of these people had been
11:01previously deported. Some of these people had been alerted on the Biden administration, but this is
11:06something they didn't want to have to do with it. So our folks have worked hand in hand with DHS to
11:13really, really make a difference for the people of Florida and for the people of the United States
11:18of America. Because I think when you're dealing with people, millions and millions of people here
11:23illegally, you see some of these folks who have huge, huge problems in their background with their
11:29conduct and really put our communities at risk. It's important that the law is in force. It's important
11:34that those people are taken care of. But what it also does is sends the message going forward.
11:39The United States of America is serious about enforcing its immigration laws. So whereas under
11:44the previous president, you could pay coyotes and come to the border knowing that you'd be home free
11:50once you got there, there's a new sheriff in town that is not going to be permitted. And I think
11:55that's one of the reasons why you've had the largest drop in border crossings in American history
12:01during President Trump's first 100 days. And so this has been night and day in terms of our state
12:07efforts working with the Trump administration. I think it's going very, very well. That was not
12:13necessarily the case under the previous administration. What I'd also say is this, we have the best emergency
12:19response team in the country. Our state agencies are very versatile. We have both a National Guard and a
12:25State Guard who are used to responding to different types of contingencies. We're ready, willing and
12:32able to take it to the next level. We have submitted plans to DHS to say, you know, if this if this is
12:39approved, we will go off to the races and we will be able to do really from soup to nuts from apprehension
12:47to detention, even putting some of our people in the National Guard in line to be, serve as immigration
12:53judges to process this. We can do it. And I'd also say you hear a lot about due process. We have tens of
13:00thousands of illegal aliens in Florida at a minimum that have already been issued final orders of
13:07removal. And there's hundreds of thousands of them throughout the United States of America. So they've had
13:14a lot of process. They've been ordered to be removed. They have not complied with those removal
13:18orders. And that's a very, very high priority for our state efforts to continue to identify those
13:24individuals and make sure that they're returned to their country of origin. So I want to thank the
13:29federal agencies that have really led the way. It's been a been a welcome change here in the state of
13:34Florida. And also thank all of our state and local partners who worked really, really hard for this
13:40operation, but have been doing this now for for many months. And we're proud to have been the first
13:45state out of the gate. But we view this as just the beginning. We think that the best is still yet to
13:50come. So thanks for everyone that's been involved. Thank you, Governor DeSantis. Thank you for his
13:59support and his vision. I'd now like to introduce Larry Keefe, who is the executive director for the State
14:04Board of Immigration Enforcement. Thank you. Good morning. The first thing I want to do is follow
14:12Governor DeSantis with thanks to our federal partners. Thanks to our federal partners for
14:17placing their trust in us. Thanks to our federal partners for reposing their confidence in us
14:23to be one of what is the first of its kind partnership in the mass deportation immigration
14:30enforcement setting. We are very grateful for that. One hundred days ago, the president of the United
14:36States, upon his inauguration, declared a national emergency. He ordered, and when I say you all,
14:43I mean my federal partners here in this room, he ordered you all to secure our borders. And he ordered
14:51you all to deport over 15 million illegal aliens who had invaded our country and infiltrated our communities.
14:58And I say this vicariously proudly for you all. I used to be with the Department of Justice, so I have
15:05some federal DNA that still runs through me. I am so proud that you all, our federal partners,
15:12in about seven weeks, effectively, functionally secured our national borders and restored our national
15:19sovereignty. Yesterday, I saw President Trump presiding over a cabinet meeting where Secretary Noem
15:24took it out several decimal points that, as of yesterday at least, the border is 99.99, and maybe she went on for some more,
15:35but effectively secured. So job well done, and it's an honor to be your partner.
15:41But, and by the way, I should mention, I spent some time on the Texas border,
15:45and over 60% of the folks, the illegal aliens that invaded this country were headed to Florida.
15:51So a special thank you from Florida to President Trump and Secretary Noem for that great accomplishment
15:56of securing our border. But the transition and focus now is on the, what I understand to be,
16:03the largest deportation campaign in American history. Millions and millions of people embedded,
16:11illegal aliens embedded in the heart of our country. And that is a huge task and a huge undertaking for any organization.
16:18But a lot of people don't know, uh, given the, uh, the size and the power and the authority of the federal government,
16:25that when it comes to law enforcement, federal law enforcement is really only about 15% of all the law enforcement in this country.
16:32Eighty-five percent of the everyday, regular law enforcement in this country
16:37is at the state and local level. In order for the federal government to carry out its mass deportation mission,
16:44it absolutely has to have not just the kind of passive, yeah, we're with you, uh, support and assistance,
16:50but direct engagement, leaning forward, ready to assist, hand in hand. Our governor in Florida
16:57recognized that within a week, I think, governor, of the, uh, of President Trump's inauguration,
17:02and called the specialist, uh, the special session of the Florida legislature, where everybody in Florida
17:06combined, the legislature, the governor, all the members of the cabinet, said, we are lockstep with
17:11you, Mr. President. We are there 100%, every bit of the way, leaning forward, 287G, the whole works.
17:19So to, to, to leave my thanks for the, uh, for the, for my federal partners, uh, at the moment right now,
17:25thank you for your, reposing your trust and confidence in us, and Florida looks forward to being
17:29the bellwether, the blueprint, the prototype of how state and locals work with their federal partners
17:35to make things happen and get things done in all settings, but in this instance, it's the mass
17:40deportation setting. Let me turn now, uh, to something I don't do often enough, and that is
17:46to thank my federal, excuse me, my Florida state and local colleagues, some of whom are, are standing
17:52behind me, but not all of them are, and some say that familiarity, uh, breeds forgetfulness, and who
17:59matters to you, and who to be grateful for, so I want to express my gratitude to them, and all they've
18:03done to make this happen, and will continue to do to make this happen. About three months ago, when I
18:08began my efforts toward this, uh, project, I went to Washington, D.C., and I spoke with one of the senior
18:14leaders at DHS named David Venturella, and I told him, unbashedly, that Florida is going to do
18:20absolutely whatever it must do to be the best state partner for President Trump and Secretary Noem
18:27in this endeavor. Shortly after that, the state and all of our state agencies came to Miami where
18:34there's the greatest concentration of, of the DHS folks that are really calling the shots of what
18:38happens in Florida, and we met with them, and we didn't just meet with them and leave and go back to
18:42Tallahassee and other places. We embedded with them at the, the Joint Intelligence Operations Center
18:47and formed real relationships, and we have continued through representatives of state law enforcement
18:53agencies to be there in that federal space, breathing the same air, arm in arms, sitting next to each
18:58other, doing all the things you need to do to go about finding, sorting, detaining, and deporting illegal
19:06aliens, especially those that are residing in the state of Florida. These are real, authentic relationships.
19:11Federal, state, and local working together in one physical place, imagine it, in the 21st century
19:17post-COVID. They are, they are very well underway in their efforts in terms of understanding Florida's
19:24capabilities and capacities, all the tools that the state of Florida has to bring to the mission. And I
19:29would say that, as you all can tell from Governor DeSantis and his approach, not just are we there passively
19:34offering tools, we want to get in and do the work. And so Florida is also offering solutions. You heard
19:40the Governor mention some of them with regard to detention and transportation, all involved in this
19:45process. There are two individuals that have a very key role in scaling this up, where this blueprint
19:51can be taken to other states from Florida. And that we have with us behind me today, Director Kevin
19:57Guthrie of the Division of Emergency Management and General John Haas of the Florida National Guard, in terms of
20:03the mass movements of people. After they have been found, after they have been detained, there's lots of
20:08movements, there's lots of needs for housing, lots of logistics complexities that would make Amazon
20:14Delivery or Federal Express blush. They are amazing in their skills and they're offering those. So I want to
20:21say a quick thank you to my federal, excuse me, my state partners once again, my state colleagues for being
20:27chosen, for being trusted, and for making Florida proud. As I bring it in for landing here,
20:33my perspectives on Operation Tidal Wave is I'm so enthusiastic, so excited, I'm not surprised.
20:39I knew it would be a success. Our federal partners are amazing. The state leaned in on it, and those
20:45numbers are wonderful and they're great. But quite frankly, my perspective is that Operation Tidal Wave,
20:51at least that one week of it that's occurred already, our first off, so to speak, was a warm-up,
20:56was a test run, was just to kind of see how things played out after all those months of working and
21:03planning. I see it as just that. It is not going to be just a succession of surges and operations and
21:09press conferences. This is going to be a sustained, persistent effort. And these relationships that I've
21:14gone on and on about today prove themselves in the heat of battle, and I'm so glad for that. But it's just a warm-up.
21:22The greatest obstacle that I perceive in this whole space right now is lawfare. It is the weaponization
21:29of the judiciary, and it is things other than the mission itself, things unrelated to finding, sorting,
21:35detaining, and deporting. That is the greatest obstacle to slow down momentum for those who want
21:41to obstruct this process, and it is essential that there be strong leadership. It takes a unique type of
21:46leader in this type of environment, a leader that is bold, a leader that is decisive, a leader that is
21:53resolute, and a leader that is, and leaders plural, who are undaunted in the face of this weaponized
22:00judiciary and lawfare. And we absolutely have that. The stars have aligned. It's a perfect storm of goodness
22:08with President Trump, Secretary Noem, and Governor DeSantis. They are the right leaders at the right place
22:13at the right time. Lastly, my perspectives on the partnership going forward. Once again,
22:20what has happened here this past week that we're here talking about today is a warm-up. What matters
22:26now is how we put together our plan or finalize our plan for execution on what is going to be constant,
22:33persistent pressure and effort in this process. And the key to that is going to be measuring success. A lot
22:42of people fear accountability. They don't like it. They don't like to measure things. But this is
22:46quintessentially a numbers mission. If you're engaged in mass deportation and you're focused on
22:51success in mass deportation in Florida, then you got to know how many apprehensions are you having?
22:56How many people have you detained? How many people have you deported? So it is key for the for the
23:02citizens of the state and the citizens of the country to hold their leaders accountable to find out
23:06what is your sheriff doing? What is your police chief doing? What are those law enforcement agencies or local
23:11officials doing that they can do to assist in this emergency mission? That's all I have.
23:19Thank you very much. And once again, thanks to our federal hosting partners.
23:25Thank you, Mr. Keefe. And now I'd like to introduce the chief patrol agent for the Miami sector, Chief Jeff Denisi.
23:32Good morning.
23:42I want to begin by thanking Governor DeSantis and the Florida state law enforcement partners and military
23:49partners and the Florida sheriffs for leading the charge across the nation in immigration enforcement.
23:56It's because of your unwavering partnership. The first iteration of Operation Tidal Wave was a resounding success.
24:06In the simplest of terms, border security is national security. The maritime border environment
24:13surrounding the state of Florida is being exploited every day by foreign terrorist organizations,
24:19such as Trandiagua and MS-13. These criminal organizations are attempting to smuggle people and narcotics,
24:28which pose a significant danger to our nation. To combat this threat, the law enforcement agencies
24:36of the Department of Homeland Security within the state of Florida employ a defense in-depth posture.
24:42The first layer of enforcement is the seamless coordination between the United States Coast Guard
24:50and CBP Air and Marine operations. Their tireless effort and the maritime detection and interdiction set
24:58the foundation for our success. Our DHS maritime partners are strengthened by the expertise and commitment
25:07of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida sheriffs in the coastal communities.
25:15The vital intelligence and operational space generated by the maritime interdiction partners
25:22allows the U.S. Border Patrol and the CBP Office of Field Operations to focus their efforts
25:29on the ingress and egress smuggling routes. These routes are utilized by those attempting to circumvent
25:36the homeland security laws. It is in this environment that the Florida Highway Patrol, National Guard,
25:45and Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and our local sheriffs are invaluable partners.
25:52They work shoulder to shoulder with our agents and officers to ensure the integrity of our shores,
25:59our marinas, our ports, and our roadways. This unified front sends a very clear message.
26:07Florida's coast will not be a haven for foreign terrorist organizations. The final layer of DHS
26:15enforcement belongs to our ICE partners with ERO removal operations and homeland security investigations.
26:22They are responsible for disrupting and dismantling foreign terrorist organizations by targeting criminal individuals.
26:31During this operation, ICE in collaboration with FDLE, FBI, DEA, ATF, and the CBP Special Response Team
26:42focused their efforts on the apprehension of illegal aliens with final orders.
26:47It gives me great pride and pleasure to highlight some of the criminal aliens on the display boards that
26:54you see here that our agents and officers work together to remove from our Florida communities.
27:01While on patrol in Jupiter, Florida, Border Patrol agents and Highway Patrol troopers arrested Alejandro Flores.
27:09He's an illegal alien from Mexico. Flores is an aggravated felon with criminal convictions for alien smuggling.
27:19Flores is being prosecuted for re-entry after deportation and will swiftly be deported after serving his sentence.
27:27In another event during this operation, Border Patrol agents and Polk County Sheriff's deputies
27:33collaborated to arrest Geller Orobio, an illegal alien from Colombia, after his release from a local
27:41detention facility. Orobio served a sentence for residential breaking and entering and has prior
27:48charges for re-entry after deportation and is a confirmed South American theft group member.
27:55Orobio is being prosecuted for re-entry after deportation and will be deported.
28:00To those that violate our immigration laws and undermine our national security, the message is clear.
28:09We will locate you, prosecute you, and deport you. The success of Operation Tidal Wave sends an unwavering message.
28:18Our collaborative efforts are making Florida an inhospitable environment for criminals to operate.
28:24We are committed to ensuring our Florida communities are safe and our nation is secure.
28:31On behalf of Customs and Border Protection, I extend my deepest appreciation to Governor DeSantis
28:37and our state and local law enforcement partners. Your commitment to the safety and security in Florida
28:43is steadfast, and we are honored to stand alongside you in this vital mission.
28:48And together we are stronger, and we will continue to make a difference. Thank you.
28:58Thank you, Chief Dinesi. That will conclude the presentation portion. We will open it up for a few
29:06questions that are germane to the Operation Operation Tidal Wave. Ma'am.
29:10Yeah, sorry, sir. Can you spell the two names that you just say? Because there's no...
29:18If you want me on the point, have you noticed, and if you guys come from Colombia, can you spell it for us?
29:23Sure. And also, we don't have any names on those days, and the names that you mentioned
29:28there are different names. Okay, we can definitely get you updates. I don't think that's a problem.
29:34The first name is Geller Orobio, O-R-O-B-I-O, and he's the Colombian individual you see over here.
29:44Geller. That's G-E-I-L-E-R.
29:49Folks, can you please say your name and your huge organization, please?
29:58Sir.
29:59We have two questions for the Governor. So, as predicted, with Congress and
30:07Congress and Congress and what I want to say, we were saying that Congress and Congress are
30:15basically the profile of the keynotes, and I want to see where you're responsible for that.
30:20The second question is... Do you have any concerns that with the lawsuits happening and federal
30:27injunctions that the charges for the arrest are obviously equal, but getting them out of
30:31since you have a... Not so much about the funding, but do you have concerns that federal injunctions
30:38and the lawsuits can't figure it out?
30:42Of course. I mean, I think we've seen it. You know, on the one hand, Biden opened the border.
30:47You'd have states like Texas do legislation to say, okay, we'll enforce federal law.
30:52And the courts would say, oh, no, it's the province of the federal government.
30:55And so, they have a right and supremacy to not take care that the laws are faithfully.
31:00It'd be one thing if the state was going against what the law is, then you could say supremacy.
31:06So, it basically neutered the states. Now we're in a situation where the federal government is
31:11doing enforcing the law, and the courts are saying, well, no, you really can't do that.
31:16People need to have, you know, some O.J. Simpson type trial before they can be deported. It's nuts.
31:23And it's a heads they win, tails we lose for the country to where people come in unimpeded,
31:29and it's virtually impossible for them to go. I think the president has a statutory authority
31:35to do this. I also think he's got Article 2 constitutional authority to do this. But I think
31:40what we've seen is they will find judges who just want to throw sand in the gears. And that's been
31:46true across their efforts, not even limited in the immigration space. So, I anticipate that that
31:51will likely continue. Ultimately, though, you know, the U.S. Supreme Court can end this charade.
31:57They've had opportunities to do it, and they haven't been willing to do it. They've created some of the
32:03mess in the immigration space with the jurisprudence. They should reverse U.S. versus Arizona. That was
32:09not the right decision. That was a split decision from the court. And so, they have an opportunity
32:13to get this basically on better footing. Because right now, you have the policies that are really
32:18being hijacked by these district judges. And they shouldn't be able to do a nationwide injunction.
32:24If you have an illegal alien that they sue for, and the judge wants to find something, even though I
32:30probably wouldn't agree with that, that should apply to that case. It shouldn't stop immigration
32:35enforcement efforts writ large. So, we're going to continue to deal with those issues. But I do think
32:41these are going to need resolution by the U.S. Supreme Court. And I don't think you're going to see it
32:46end until that happens. There's no racial profiling. If you're here illegally, then you're a violation of
32:53the law. And there's not saying that, you know, only people of one shade or that. If you're illegal,
32:58you're illegal. And we're going to hold you accountable.
33:05Ma'am.
33:05Ma'am.
33:07Hi. So, I'm just wondering how you might be handling the balance between pursuing foreign,
33:14what you consider foreign criminals and national criminals because foreigners are not holding
33:20criminals. Law enforcement agents at the state and local level also need to pursue national
33:25and U.S. citizens that are committing crimes, so how are we balancing that switch for not distracting
33:31that from their job?
33:31Well, our state and local, they are doing their jobs, as they always do.
33:40Their role in this is to supplement the efforts that the feds are doing.
33:45The reality is, is they come into contact with illegal aliens more than the feds do, just in a matter of course.
33:52And so to have this cooperation, I mean, our highway patrol, you have people driving on the highways here illegally.
33:57Now, we don't issue driver's license.
33:59We don't recognize driver's license.
34:01We don't recognize any ID for people here illegally in Florida.
34:05But nevertheless, they're driving.
34:07Well, our highway patrol can then work with ICE and get this process moving.
34:11So it works well in harmony.
34:14And I think ultimately, if you're enforcing immigration laws consistently, I think that that leads to less crime overall.
34:22And I think it ends up helping their missions.
34:28Sir?
34:28So I think that remains to be seen how they're exactly going to do it.
34:56I think that these folks are involved in areas where they're likely going to be able to add value to what ICE and DHS are doing.
35:03So I think just stay tuned and see how that unfolds.
35:08What is the difference in the body of the state of the government and that?
35:09I think it's important.
35:09What should we do to document?
35:10So I think it's important.
35:11I think it's important.
35:11I think it's important.
35:12I think it's important.
35:13This is a question for Deputy Director of Madison Smith.
35:16I was wondering, you've heard about the importance of knowing how we're
35:20back in the administration, but I suppose that you're spotting data
35:27with monthly and quarterly applications.
35:31Why is that?
35:32Why is there any changes in the government administration?
35:35And also, are you getting that quota that the government administration
35:39put out of 1,200 or 1,200 a day?
35:42Look, we work with the White House every day.
35:44We update them on the numbers every single day, and we're working closely
35:47with the President, his team directly at the White House, as well as main DHS
35:51team with Secretary Noem every single day.
35:53We saw the numbers we put out for the first 100 days, roughly 65,000 arrests
36:00in the first 100 days, which is truly a historic number.
36:05And I think, and the Governor has mentioned this too, I think the biggest
36:08difference is the way we're counting every arrest.
36:11These are legitimate arrests.
36:12These are criminal aliens.
36:13We have zero tolerance for criminal aliens to be in this country, and we're
36:17making sure that we're counting every arrest as accurate as possible.
36:21And we're not doing catch and release that you saw from the Biden administration,
36:24which shows a lot of skewed numbers of what you saw out of the previous
36:27administration.
36:28The President has zero tolerance for us to do anything wrong with the numbers.
36:32We are very clear in the stance of what we're counting as arrests, and we
36:37stand by our numbers.
36:38Why is it being updated a month ago?
36:42Look, we update the numbers as often as possible.
36:45The data comes in to us every day.
36:47We're moving as quickly as possible to make sure President Trump, Secretary Noem have made
36:51it a priority to be more transparent than the previous administrations, and we are working
36:55to do that every day.
36:56Yes, everybody that is in this country illegally is a criminal.
37:10And so we are processing them through the immigration courts, the due process to make
37:15sure that we get them through the courts, through the DOJ process, and then from there
37:20they will be deported, turning an outcome of those cases.
37:24I agree.
37:25You may mention, certainly, that the focus is on the criminal immigrants, but we've
37:29certainly seen some stories where mothers who have either overstated visas or have shown
37:35up for a regular appointment and they have a deportation order and with no criminal history
37:42so that that person, along with their child, is deported.
37:45We've seen a bunch of instances that you've made reference as collateral.
37:50Can you speak to that now?
37:51Mothers with no criminal history with infant, child, or babies are being deported, and is
37:57that how the process is supposed to work?
37:59Look, I stand by what we've said since day one, since January 20th.
38:02If you are in this country illegally, you are a criminal.
38:05We have zero tolerance for criminal aliens in this country.
38:08As far as a conversation about children, I think the real conversation we should be having
38:12is about the half a million children that the Biden administration allowed to come unaccompanied
38:17across the border that President Trump has made a priority to get them back home with their families.
38:22I have a question for the owner just about the intersection of state law.
38:25We saw that the federal court in Miami on Friday, a judge had reiterated that there was a say
38:31that there was 50 arrests that apparently remain welcome to the U.S. citizen up in Tallahassee
38:36on a violation of a federal order.
38:39We hear you kind of take a jab after the process of the judicial, but...
38:43It's not taking a jab.
38:45It's just, you know, you can't have effective immigration enforcement
38:50if you have elaborate procedures that you have to go through.
38:54It is not punishment to be removed from this country.
38:57If you're going to be punished, then you get the full panoply of due process.
39:02But these are not punishments that are being rendered.
39:04It is just the consequence of being here illegally.
39:07Now, in terms of this judge, we are not at all surprised.
39:11We knew that they would go in and do that.
39:14The legislature structured that state law in a way that was different from Texas
39:20and some of the others that have run into problems.
39:22So we actually feel confident that we'll ultimately be vindicated on that.
39:26It should be a crime to enter the state of Florida illegally.
39:31We have police power to be able to do that.
39:33That does not undercut or interfere with federal efforts.
39:36In fact, if anything, that buttresses federal efforts.
39:39So on detention, if we get the sign off from DHS, we can expand detention space very quickly in Florida.
39:57I mean, just think about it.
39:58I mean, you guys who are Florida-based, you know when we have hurricanes,
40:01we end up setting up locations for tens of thousands of linemen, right?
40:05Do that very, very quickly.
40:07So we have the capacity to set it up quickly.
40:10But we're not going to do that without the approval of the Department of Homeland Security.
40:14And I know they're working on exactly what they want to do after tidal wave.
40:18This is what they had focused on.
40:19So Kevin Guthrie, Division of Emergency Management, they can absolutely do that.
40:24And that could be potentially a short-term support for the lack of space that the feds may have.
40:31So we stand ready, willing, and able to help in that space.
40:33We stand ready, willing, and able to help in the immigration judge space.
40:37Because remember, I think not everyone may know because of the way it's presented.
40:41These are not Article III judges.
40:43They are executive branch employees, basically.
40:46We can absolutely deputize judge advocates from our National Guard units to serve as immigration judges.
40:53We can do others to do that.
40:54So we'll help on that piece as well.
40:56And we can even help on the transport piece, whether it's transporting.
41:00I know that they were talking about Gitmo.
41:02I don't know that they've used that.
41:03But we can help with that as well.
41:05So we can really be a force multiplier in Florida.
41:08And a lot of it is just because, well, one, we're committed to the mission.
41:11We think it's important.
41:12We know that there's tens of thousands of illegal aliens under deportation orders in this state alone.
41:17I've heard as much as 80,000 may be in the state of Florida who've already been ordered to be deported.
41:22But certainly it's tens of thousands.
41:25But we also have great muscle memory on how to handle quick emergency responses.
41:30So these things can happen very quickly.
41:33Our guys are very nimble.
41:34I mean, you know, you've seen hurricane responses.
41:36But you've also seen us rescue people from Israel.
41:39You've seen us evacuate and rescue people from Haiti.
41:42This is just what we do.
41:44And we stand ready and willing and able to help.
41:46With all due respect, this is the United States of America.
41:50Where are you from?
41:52I'm WSBA on Channel 7.
41:54My name is Vanessa McClure.
41:55Great. Thanks.
41:56The United States of America.
41:57So many people are being robbed.
41:58They're being processed.
41:59This is wonderful.
42:00This dog and pony show.
42:02But there's American citizens who are being deported.
42:06They show their birth certificates.
42:08They show their passports.
42:09They show their IDs.
42:10And a lot of the work being done is a little sloppy.
42:13Well, first of all, I'll let ICE handle that accusation that you're making that they're deporting American citizens who are showing birth certificates and all that.
42:21I don't believe that that's true.
42:23But I'll let them respond to that.
42:24But you seem to have no sympathy.
42:27You seem to have no sympathy for people that have been victimized by illegal aliens.
42:32What about people you have someone driving drunk and kills American citizen?
42:38What about people that have been deported previously and led in under Biden who then commit sexual offenses or commit homicides?
42:45And then we have more victims as a result of the federal government's previous inattention and unwillingness to enforce the law.
42:53So there are a lot of people that have been harmed by illegal immigration.
42:59There have been people that have been harmed by Trendy Aragua gang members who should not be in this country in the first place.
43:07So let's just be clear.
43:09Who are you fighting for?
43:11We're fighting for the citizens of Florida.
43:14We want them to be able to live in a society that upholds the rule of law.
43:18We want them to be able to live in a state that is safe.
43:21And we have to take action on it.
43:24I'll let them address your accusation.
43:26But the notion that somehow this is America.
43:29Therefore, we're supposed to have an open border.
43:32We're not supposed to enforce immigration laws.
43:34We're supposed to just sit on our hands when Biden let in seven or eight million people illegally into the country.
43:41No, that is not responsible.
43:43That is not what our citizens elected us to do.
43:46So we're in this fight.
43:48I think a lot of these narratives that I hear to me just instinctively, I think they're fake narratives because I've seen it happen so many times.
43:57But I will let folks at ICE respond to your accusation.
44:01Well, the first thing I'll say is that I think the governor's words really stand on their own.
44:05The men and women of ICE are working every single day to protect the communities, working with state and local officials to do our very best to protect the communities.
44:14After the Biden administration opened our borders, allowed people to come into this country that should have never came into this country in the first place, jeopardizing our families and our communities and putting them in harm's way on a daily basis.
44:27The men and women of ICE are going into those communities to protect the men and women in these communities to be able to do the mission that we've been set on every single day that the president has given us.
44:38The 349,000 new court cases in 2025 alone, only 1% are new cases based on alleged criminal activity.
44:50So a lot of these people don't have criminal tasks or background.
44:54So who's being arrested and where is this information on ICE's website?
44:58It's on court documents, but we can't get this information.
45:01And ICE, quite frankly, isn't being very transparent.
45:05Look, I'll stand by the fact that if you're in this country illegally, you are a criminal.
45:11You will be deported.
45:12You will have the opportunity to be able to come back into this country through the correct immigration processes.
45:17We're working through those every single day.
45:20But our number one goal is to keep the American people safe from the criminals that are walking in this country that should have never been let through in the first place.
45:27So let me tell you how we operate on the highways, not only working with Florida Highway Patrol, they're pulling people over every day for traffic violations.
45:42But when you see a Border Patrol agent, a marked green and white out there on the highway, this is how they operate.
46:01They're cruising along the highway and they're looking for reactions.
46:05Reactions from the driver, first of all.
46:07The driver looks over and then looks away and won't look at them again.
46:11You know, there's different, they vary their speed.
46:14They move away from that marked unit.
46:16We run the license plate.
46:18The license plate comes back to an illegal alien.
46:20We have the name of the individual registered to the vehicle.
46:24We get their DOB from there and we run it through our immigration systems.
46:28So we know when we pull that person over, the registered owner of that vehicle, which gives us reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle, is an illegal alien.
46:37He may not be in that vehicle, but it gives us enough reasonable suspicion, which is what we need, to stop a vehicle.
46:44There is no racial profiling going on.
46:46Governor, you said some agencies wanted to be part of this fight, some agencies would rather not be part of this fight.
46:53Can you be a little more specific?
46:55I mean, was there any pushback or just outright refusal from any agencies or any officials with these agencies or even public officials or state officials to be part of this operation?
47:07So, no, no, no.
47:08That's not what I meant.
47:09What I was referencing is when we did the special session, one of the things I insisted on was that we impose a duty on all states.
47:15And local law enforcement to actively assist and participate.
47:20I think the language is you have to use your full efforts available to you.
47:24Now, obviously, some of our rural sheriffs, they may not have any personnel.
47:28Some of our more urban areas probably have a little bit more ability.
47:32They also provided funding, though, of course, to help these agencies.
47:35We didn't want to do an unfunded mandate.
47:37But my point on that is had we not imposed that duty, you would not have had 67 sheriffs do 287G agreements.
47:45You would have had some, maybe even most of them, but you definitely wouldn't have had all of them.
47:49You wouldn't have the number of municipal agencies, police departments, that have had the 287G had we not imposed the duty.
47:57And so that is just, and it's not, I mean, you have some sheriffs that are, you know, conservative, law and order, but they just, their view is maybe, hey, the feds can just take care of it.
48:08You know, I got enough on my plate.
48:10And I get that, but that ultimately doesn't work because this is a problem that is not just limited to ICE agents.
48:17I mean, it's a problem that affects communities throughout the state of Florida.
48:20It does affect criminal activity.
48:22It is a way to bring in drugs, bring in human trafficking, a whole bunch of other stuff.
48:28So they're all on board.
48:30They've all signed up.
48:31As far as I know, every agency is following their duties under state law.
48:37And I know that when there have been questions about that, like we had in Orange County, the Florida Attorney General reminded the folks there of the duties under law.
48:46And that was taken care of.
48:48But it was nothing about this tidal wave.
48:50That wasn't what I meant.
48:52I meant going into the special session.
48:54Had we not sought the legislation, I think that Florida's enforcement would be a little bit more patchwork.
49:00I think most of the agencies would probably, or state agencies for sure, because we said the state has to be involved.
49:06But on the local level, I think you would have seen some involved and then some, none of them would have been sanctuary because that's against Florida law.
49:13But there's a difference between not being a sanctuary and then being on the team and actually helping to amplify the efforts.
49:20There are some issues in the next city that we cover in Santa Barbara that they are in.
49:24The communities we cover.
49:25Durant, for example, was established and thrived because of the violence.
49:30Now thousands are afraid that you lose your temporary protective status from the dictatorship in Venezuela.
49:36And they're gonna lose their work permits.
49:38They're gonna lose their legal status.
49:39Are you afraid that these people will not turn to local police if they are victims or witnesses of a crime?
49:44Are you afraid of being concerned at all over the impact in the community like Durant?
49:48So the TPS issue is obviously something that the administration will respond to,
49:55but I'm not concerned about not seeking support if there's criminal activity.
50:00But I will tell you this, because I know Doral very well, and we have a lot of great friends there
50:06and actually got a lot of support there over the years, when we did the Martha's Vineyard,
50:11it was mostly Venezuelans who were on that, and people were saying,
50:16oh my gosh, Doral, they're going to be so upset because they were Venezuelans.
50:19And it turned out these people were thanking me, because what they saw was they saw the regime
50:25sending people to the border who shouldn't be in the United States.
50:30And so I think the way it can be presented by some of the media is different from what you hear
50:35from people when you actually get on the ground and cut through the BS.
50:40And so we've got a very vibrant Venezuelan-American community,
50:44made huge contributions to South Florida and to the state of Florida, and that will continue.
50:50But at the same time, I mean, some of these gang members, some of the people that have come in
50:54with Maduro, from Maduro, pushing them out of prisons and stuff, we don't want those folks in Doral.
51:00We don't want those folks in South Florida.
51:02And I think that there's a pretty clear distinction on those two types of folks.
51:08I want to thank everybody.
51:10I want to thank the governor.
51:12Thank you, everyone, for attending today.
51:14Again, thank you very much.
51:17Good job.
51:19Good job.
51:20Good job.
51:23Look forward to seeing you soon.
51:32Good job.