Operation 9: Law Enforcement Targets Illegal Immigration in Florida

In a recent initiative named “Operation 9,” federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies apprehended 249 undocumented immigrants over a span of three days in Florida.

Sources indicate that this operation signifies a more organized and effective approach to capturing illegal immigrants along Florida’s roadways.

This effort sharply contrasts with regions governed by Democrats, which often classify themselves as “sanctuary” locales and do not engage in federal immigration enforcement.

The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) collaborated with various agencies to detain these individuals, process them, and hand them over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as detailed by local news reports.

Many of those taken into custody along a South Florida highway were described as “ghosts” by Lt. Ramin Sulaiman, the deputy commander of FHP’s Immigration Enforcement Division. He emphasized that there is no record of these individuals, leaving their identities and backgrounds unknown.

Sulaiman mentioned that during the Biden administration, over a million immigrants entered the U.S. illegally and indicated they were heading to Florida, only to be released afterward.

“This doesn’t account for all the ghosts,” he noted. “It refers to individuals we’ve never encountered. They’re just here.”

There remains uncertainty about whether these individuals have criminal histories or harmful intentions.

Florida has a notable history of apprehending illegal immigrants. Since March 2025, approximately 10,500 undocumented individuals have been detained, as stated by Dave Kerner, the executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Many are discovered without driver’s licenses during routine traffic stops, which often leads to investigations revealing their immigration status.

Officer Tony Golden, who typically focuses on commercial vehicle enforcement in six regions in the Florida Panhandle, expressed his belief that the number of illegal aliens in Florida is significantly high based on encounters on the highways.

He expressed frustration at accusations suggesting patrol officers are mainly targeting immigration issues and racial profiling, insisting, “We are enforcing the law. We don’t pick and choose what we want to enforce.”

During a recent operation, Fox Digital accompanied officers in action. Reports detailed how, before dawn, more than 100 police officers assembled at an FHP base in Broward County. This included law enforcement members, ICE and U.S. Border Patrol agents, and troopers from the Florida National Guard.

During Operation 9, officers frequently returned to their station, escorting handcuffed individuals to a waiting area for processing and providing them with refreshments.

ICE spokesman Nestor Iglesias explained that those detained typically have options: they can opt for an arranged flight home or wait for further processing related to their immigration hearings.

Iglesias noted that decisions regarding who pays for transportation out of the country will be made by ICE. Some individuals have reportedly received financial incentives for voluntary departure, reaching up to $2,600.

Officials revealed that Florida has carried out eight similar operations since October, hence the name “Operation 9.”