DeSantis: 10,400 Illegals Arrested During Florida’s Historic ‘Operation Tidal Wave’

A massive immigration crackdown in Florida has resulted in more than 10,000 illegals being arrested, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Monday.

“Operation Tidal Wave” has resulted in the removal of 10,400 illegals since April with the help of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Fox News reported.

“Today, I was proud to announce a new milestone in our joint efforts to combat illegal immigration and restore order in our communities: Florida law enforcement have arrested more than 10,400 illegal immigrants across the state. Florida leads—again!” DeSantis wrote in a social media post:

At a press conference Monday, Attorney General James Uthmeier explained officials are working to make sure residents are safe from illegal alien crime, per WCTV.

“People preying upon and abusing little kids that are illegal immigrants have no business being here in the first place,” he stated.

Florida’s Voice reported Monday that over 60 percent of the arrestees had prior criminal records or convictions and noted that “Florida remains the ONLY state to mandate 287(g) cooperation across all 67 counties to assist federal deportation efforts.”

Indeed, the White House said in November that “Operation Dirtbag” resulted in the arrests of over 150 illegal alien sexual predators in Florida, per Breitbart News.

DeSantis shared an infographic Monday that said his state is “leading the fight” regarding illegal immigration enforcement. The post noted “Operation Tidal Wave” is the largest illegal immigration coordination effort in the nation:

In September, ICE announced the state’s law enforcement agencies were awarded millions in federal funding amid their crackdown on illegal immigration, the outlet said.

“The funding has been awarded to law enforcement agencies that enrolled in the federal 287(g) program to partner with the Department of Homeland Security in immigration actions,” it stated. “In Florida, 325 state law enforcement agencies have partnered with the federal program, a 577 percent increase over the number in January.”

A few months later, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) announced troopers arrested 6,200 illegal migrants while partnering with ICE over the past year, Breitbart News reported.

“De Santis was one of the first state governors to pledge to help Trump implement his immigration policies as the president prepared to take office for his second term in the White House,” the article noted. “This month’s report on the number of illegal migrants grabbed up by the FHP proves that DeSantis was a man of his word.”