Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, in partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), announced “Operation Dirtbag,” officially known as Operation Criminal Return.
The operation focused on identifying and removing child predators, rapists, and violent criminals who are in the United States illegally and residing across the state of Florida.
“Operation Dirtbag, to go after people who have attacked children in our communities. In just 10 days we have been able to remove in partnership with the state of Florida over 230 of the worse of the worse from their streets,” said Madison Sheahan, ICE Executive Director.
The arrests include 54 sexual predators, 164 offenders of sexual crimes, two convicted murderers, one convicted of drug trafficking, and eight others charged with serious felonies.
The operation’s success was made possible through the 287(g) program, which authorizes ICE to delegate certain immigration enforcement powers to state and local law enforcement officers under federal supervision.
With every state agency in Florida now holding active 287(g) credentials, task force members were able to make arrests efficiently and lawfully under this authority.
According to ICE and FDLE officials, the effort to locate and arrest illegal immigrants will continue.
“Anybody who’s in this country illegally, we will continue to go after and target anybody who is in our targeting system, whether you have a final order or we come across you in our 287(g) efforts but our job is to keep the community safe,” said Sheahan.
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