WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — South Florida immigration attorneys are noticing a shift in how federal and local law enforcement are carrying out immigration arrests, with fewer high-profile raids that spark public outrage and raise legal concerns.
The change appears to coincide with Markwayne Mullin replacing Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary in March.
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Renata Castro, an immigration attorney based in Coral Springs, said she has seen the shift firsthand.
"We're definitely seeing more detained cases across our desk," Castro said. "We're definitely seeing a lot more traffic-related detention... and that resulting in an immigration detention."
Castro said the approach under Noem was markedly different.
"What we saw during Kristi Noem's term was a lot of arrests without a warrant, just a big spectacle overall," Castro said.
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Immigration attorneys previously questioned the legality of many detentions carried out during Noem's tenure. Castro said she does not have those same questions about the current approach.
"These are arrests without warrants, but still following the safeguards that the law, particularly local law enforcement, has to abide by, and that's why we're seeing an uptick in detention numbers," Castro said.
According to NBC News, ICE arrested 10,000 people over five days this month.
According to data kept by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, 24 immigration arrests were conducted in Martin County on Tuesday. The Martin County Sheriff's Office confirms FDLE was the agency behind the arrests.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement conducted 24 immigration arrests in Martin County on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for ICE did not directly address questions about whether there was a directive from the agency to local law enforcement to increase arrests.
“ICE’s congressionally mandated responsibility is to enforce immigration laws, and agents, working alongside our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, continue to carry out their duties in accordance with federal law and agency priorities," said the spokesperson in an email Monday, pointing to additional funding for ICE in the Big Beautiful Bill. "The BBB provides ICE with enough detention capacity to maintain an average daily population of 100,000 illegal aliens and secures 80,000 new ICE beds. (It) will also fully fund ICE’s 287(g) program, which empowers state and local law enforcement to assist federal immigration officers."
WPTV has also reached out to FDLE for comment and will update this story when they respond.
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