Over 100 migrant workers were apprehended during a large-scale immigration enforcement operation at a construction site near Florida State University in Tallahassee.
Officials describe the raid, which was carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in cooperation with the Florida Highway Patrol and various federal agencies, as one of the largest of its kind in the state.
Many of the workers were involved in the construction of the Perla at the Enclave, a $100 million student housing complex. They were divided depending on their immigration status and papers. According to eyewitnesses, law enforcement authorities surrounded the scene at 9 a.m. and began checking IDs, separating individuals into two lines: those with documents and those without.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigation served multiple search warrants as part of an ongoing investigation in the Tallahassee region,” a spokeswoman for ICE told Florida Phoenix.
Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) social media post verified the arrests of “more than 100 illegal aliens,” some of whom had already been deported or had criminal records, according to the agency. Those detained are from Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Colombia, and Honduras.
Fernando Sanchez, a worker who was not detained, described the scene to Tallahassee Democrat: “I wasn’t panicking, but I felt really bad for my coworkers who are just trying to make a living.” Another worker, Michael Martinez, said a similar raid occurred earlier that morning at his nearby job site: “It’s just crazy how they’re doing this.”
Witnesses reported shackling workers, some with zip ties, and loading them onto buses with metal-covered windows. Family members gathered outside the site, attempting to obtain information about their loved ones, while other spectators protested against law enforcement authorities.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis praised the operation, calling it a “major bust” and an example of how the state is “making a giant impact,” according to the Tallahassee Democrat. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles declared, “We will not tolerate illegal immigration.”