MIRAMAR, FLA. (WSVN) - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials were in South Florida to announce the results of a massive immigration sweep alongside their state partners.
Speaking with reporters at the ICE facility in Miramar, federal authorities on Thursday released the results of a 10-day sweep that started in late October and went into November.
Officials said ICE agents worked with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on the operation that targeted registered sexual offenders. These were people who, authorities said, had already been convicted of a sexual crime, were registering with the state, had immigration issues and had been told to leave the country but had yet to do so.
Some of those arrested include a man charged with a sex crime on a child under 12 years old, a man charged with attempted murder and a third man charged with sexual assault of a child.
“These heinous criminals have gone and attacked children at their most vulnerable state and law enforcement has stepped up to the plate to remove them from the communities,” said ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan.
Officials said they also targeted those who have criminal histories with drug charges, battery and even murder, describing them as the worst of the worst. These were people who have been convicted of violent crimes and also had immigration issues.
Officials had coined this operation “Operation Criminal Return, but Sheahan had another nickname for it.
“Operation Dirtbag, to go after people who have attacked children in our communities. In just 10 days, we’ve been able to remove, in partnership with the State of Florida, over 230 of the worst of the worst heinous criminals from their streets,” said Sheahan. “Our job as law enforcement is to protect the most vulnerable.”
Sheahan added ICE’s partnership with the FDLE and other state agencies is a model for the country.
“We are able to work side by side as partners and not overreach as government to be able to go and remove the worst of the worst criminals,” she said.
Following the press conference, the deputy director spoke to 7News about their efforts across the country, including in some states where ICE has gotten no cooperation from officials.
“In the City of New York, we’ve seen widely that they’re not going to work with ICE here into the future and we’re just not going to stand for it. We’ll still go into those areas,” she said. “If you came into this country illegally, we encourage everybody to use the CBP Home app and go back home and ultimately, you can go through the correct process to come back into the United States.”
ICE officials said anyone who has entered this country illegally has broken a federal law and is subject to deportation.
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