Thread: Immigration agents show up in Southwest Florida migrant farmworker community

Immigration agents show up in Southwest Florida migrant farmworker community

By Mitch Perry -
July 12, 2019

Immigration agents detain woman after searching bus. Photo by Florida Immigrant Coalition


Though the Trump administration has not identified where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will be conducting raids to deport undocumented immigrants across the U.S. this weekend, ICE agents showed up Friday morning in the Southwest Florida migrant farmworker community of Immokalee, the Naples Daily News reports.

Immokalee is about 40 miles from Naples, and it is home to thousands of workers who pick vegetables and citrus at South Florida farms, and some who work at sugar cane processing facilities.

Trump administration officials have said that this Sunday they will deport migrants who are already under “removal orders’ – orders to deport back to their home countries – signed by an immigration judge. Miami, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Houston and Florence, Arizona have the most removal orders, based on addresses listed in court documents, according to a new study by Stateline, the news service of the Pew Charitable Trusts.

On CNN Thursday, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a Republican, said he doesn’t want violent criminals in his city, but “aside from that, we, as a city, are a city of immigrants.”

He also said that he had yet to hear anything from the federal government about who might be targeted by ICE.

“Frankly, we’re in the dark. I don’t know how whatever the crisis is on the southern border relates to the city of Miami,” he said.

South Florida Democratic state Rep. Cindy Polo was among several state lawmakers to speak out about the ICE raids during a call with reporters Friday.

“As a member of the Miami-Dade delegation, we are ground zero for a lot of the immigrant population, and we are seeing in our very own backyards the panic and fear that is residing within our residents,” Polo added.

Central Florida Democratic U.S. Rep. Darren Soto called the raids political “red-meat” for President Trump’s political base.
“Ironically, by doing it he is putting ICE agents and other law enforcement in harm’s way by announcing these things,” Soto said on a conference call Friday morning. “This is entirely unnecessary. We don’t need a spectacle of a giant raid across the nation.”

When asked to elaborate what he meant by putting ICE agents in harm’s way, Soto said, “generally you don’t project an ICE raid in advance, because it gives folks the ability to prepare and potentially increases the chances of a dangerous conflict.”

In the community of South Miami, city commissioners voted this week to hire an attorney to handle a legal challenge to the state’s new “anti-sanctuary cities” law.

The law calls for all local law-enforcement agencies to fully cooperate with federal immigration officials, including holding people who have been arrested for even minor crimes so that authorities can check their immigration status.

In reaction to the South Miami commission’s move, the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida and the sponsor of the anti-sanctuary city bill in the Florida House, Sarasota Rep. Joe Gruters, wrote on his Facebook page this week that he was “disgusted to see a city in Florida use tax-dollars to protect criminals who are in our country illegally!”

“My Sanctuary City Ban, which was signed into law by our Governor Ron DeSantis, isn’t just legal, it’s the right thing to do!” Gruters wrote.

https://www.floridaphoenix.com/blog/...ker-community/

ICE arrests 20 in San Diego during week-long surge

OH NO!!!!! THEY'RE in IMMOKALEE!!!!! EASY TARGET, BUT WHOSE GOING TO PICK THE TOMATOES this winter around there????? The homeless around downtown Miami could pick them????? They can always run over to Ave Maria and hide in the Church there. The Fathers will keep ICE away from them. IMMOKALEE is EASY PICKINGS. I want to see SOME ACTION this weekend.

Originally Posted by tonyklo

OH NO!!!!! THEY'RE in IMMOKALEE!!!!! EASY TARGET, BUT WHOSE GOING TO PICK THE TOMATOES this winter around there????? The homeless around downtown Miami could pick them????? They can always run over to Ave Maria and hide in the Church there. The Fathers will keep ICE away from them. IMMOKALEE is EASY PICKINGS. I want to see SOME ACTION this weekend.

They want these prisoners in a "work program"...let THEM pick the tomatoes!!! Put low risk prisoners in the field, pay a nominal wage to go into "escrow" for when they get out!

Many have child support to pay and could be used for that!

GET THAT PROGRAM GOING TRUMP!

Central Florida Democratic U.S. Rep. Darren Soto called the raids political “red-meat” for President Trump’s political base.

“Ironically, by doing it he is putting ICE agents and other law enforcement in harm’s way by announcing these things,” Soto said on a conference call Friday morning. “This is entirely unnecessary. We don’t need a spectacle of a giant raid across the nation.”

When asked to elaborate what he meant by putting ICE agents in harm’s way, Soto said, “generally you don’t project an ICE raid in advance, because it gives folks the ability to prepare and potentially increases the chances of a dangerous conflict.”

I tend to agree with Soto. The Trump administration is approaching this in the wrong way simply because Trump wants to throw "red meat" to his base. All illegal alien raids should be kept low-key and out of the spotlight of the liberal media whenever possible. I knew something wasn't quite right about this whole thing when Trump started thumping his chest and publicly announcing these raids. While he's using it as a tool to get the Democrats to move on the immigration issue, it just might blow up in our faces!

You don't publicly announce raids ..... illegals should just start mysteriously vanishing from our society. Word of mouth will get the word out on what is happening. Let's not make a circus out of it! Well, that's how I see it anyway.

Originally Posted by Beezer

They want these prisoners in a "work program"...let THEM pick the tomatoes!!! Put low risk prisoners in the field, pay a nominal wage to go into "escrow" for when they get out!

Many have child support to pay and could be used for that!

GET THAT PROGRAM GOING TRUMP!

PLENTY of HOMELESS and Prisoners to pick tomatoes this winter down there!!!!! Great IDEA!!!!! And there's jails really close to the tomatoe fields. They could get all the people who were convicted of DUI drunk driving after drinking 2 BEERS and driving home at night by the CORRUPT CRIMINALS of the COLLIER COUNTY SHERIFF'S office to the pick the tomatoes instead of sitting in county jail for a month or 2 after their 3rd DUI arrest and conviction.

Originally Posted by tonyklo

PLENTY of HOMELESS and Prisoners to pick tomatoes this winter down there!!!!! Great IDEA!!!!! And there's jails really close to the tomatoe fields. They could get all the people who were convicted of DUI drunk driving after drinking 2 BEERS and driving home at night by the CORRUPT CRIMINALS of the COLLIER COUNTY SHERIFF'S office to the pick the tomatoes instead of sitting in county jail for a month or 2 after their 3rd DUI arrest and conviction.

Judges could also offer the program to those who have hefty fines they cannot pay! Work it off!

Offer it to pay off parking tickets!!!

The sky is the limit to fill those jobs.


Can't pay child support??? In the FIELD you go to pay it off!

ICE “typical immigration targeted enforcement activity” "over 18 only"