(Ken Silva, Headline USA) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with state and local partners, arrested 780 illegal immigrants in a single, four-day sweep dubbed “Operation Tidal Wave,” ICE announced on Saturday.
Citing ICE statistics, ABC News reported on Saturday that 275 of the illegal immigrants were arrested with final orders of removal, which means they can be removed from the country immediately.
ABC reported that ICE used its 287(g) authority, allowing Florida state and local law enforcement agencies to be deputized to assist with illegal immigrant roundups.
In a first-of-its-kind partnership between state and federal partners, ICE Miami and Florida law enforcement arrested nearly 800 illegal aliens this week during the first four days of #OperationTidalWave — a massive, multi-agency, immigration enforcement crackdown.
💡Learn how… pic.twitter.com/LbH3j4OJU9
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) April 26, 2025
“I think the main reason why this operation is significant is because it’s the first of its kind. It’s one that not only we’ve been doing what we have, but we have surged all our federal partners together along with Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement [and] Removal Operations, which are all the enforcement arms of ICE, but we’re also using all our 287(g) partners in the state of Florida,” acting ICE Director Todd Lyons reportedly told ABC News.
We’re using state, local and county law enforcement agencies to assist us in our operations.”
According to ABC News, ICE has signed 428 new 287(g) agreements signed with state and local law enforcement agencies under the new Trump administration. That represents a 371% increase, according to Lyons.
The Trump administration has deported about an estimated 100,000 illegal immigrants in its first four months of office, which puts it on pace for just over 1 million deportations by 2028. Some estimates say that there are 20 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., with millions having come just over the last four years during the Biden administration.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
