This month, Fox News Digital rode along with troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) on its largest partnership yet, dubbed Operation 9.<\/p>\n
During the three-day sweep, FHP teamed up with five other federal, state and local agencies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After three days, 249 illegal immigrants had been captured, processed and handed over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).<\/p>\n
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A federal immigration officer stands beside a detained individual near a vehicle during an enforcement operation. (Natasha Holt for Fox News Digital)<\/p>\n
FOX NEWS RIDES ALONG AS FLORIDA HIGHWAY PATROL BEGINS ENFORCING FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAWS ON STATE ROADS<\/a><\/p>\n And many handcuffed on the shoulders of South Florida highways were “ghosts,” said Lt. Ramin Sulaiman, assistant commander of the FHP Immigration Enforcement Section.<\/a><\/p>\n What\u2019s alarming, he said, is “we have no records for them, no accountability of who they are.”\u00a0<\/p>\n And that\u2019s what his team sees every day in their routine work patrolling the state\u2019s highways.<\/p>\n ICE AND FLORIDA ARREST 230 CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS IN 10-DAY OPERATION<\/a><\/p>\n More than 1 million immigrants who came into the country illegally during the Biden administration told immigration officials at the border that they were headed to Florida, Sulaiman said. Then, they were released.<\/p>\n FOLLOW US ON X<\/a><\/p>\n “But that does not include all the ghosts, meaning the people that have no encounters [with law enforcement],” said Sulaiman.<\/p>\n “They\u2019re just here.”<\/p>\n \u2018SHAMEFUL\u2019: LEGAL IMMIGRANTS FACE UPHILL BATTLE AMID ONGOING BORDER CRISIS<\/a><\/p>\n And with unknown criminal histories and intentions, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Florida has about 23.5 million known residents.\u00a0Based on their daily roadside encounters, Sulaiman and other troopers say there are likely millions more uncounted ghosts.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s tactics<\/p>\n Troopers patrolling the Sunshine State on routine duties have happened upon \u2014 and gathered up \u2014 more than 10,476 illegal immigrants since March 2025, Dave Kerner, executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, told Fox News Digital.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dave Kerner stands outside the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ headquarters in Florida. (Natasha Holt for Fox News Digital)<\/p>\n FLORIDA SHERIFF SAYS ICE PARTNERSHIP ONLY THE BEGINNING IN ILLEGAL MIGRANT CRACKDOWN<\/a><\/p>\n On routine stops for driving infractions, they find that many drivers don\u2019t have a license. That\u2019s the first clue they might not be citizens. And that leads to more-probing questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Trooper Tony Golden normally focuses on commercial vehicles on the highways in six counties in Florida\u2019s Panhandle.<\/p>\n ILLEGAL TRUCKER \u2018DEPORTED HIMSELF TO CA,’ LAWMAKER SAYS, WHILE REVEALING SYSTEMIC CRISIS IN TRANSPORTATION<\/a><\/p>\n He encounters so many illegal immigrants<\/a> in his day-to-day work that he believes the number of them in Florida “is astronomical,” he said.<\/p>\n Golden understands why immigration enforcement is a polarizing topic, even among some law enforcement officers.\u00a0<\/p>\n GET BREAKING NEWS BY EMAIL<\/a><\/p>\n But “we are enforcing the law,” he said. “We don’t pick and choose what we want to enforce.”<\/p>\n He bristles at suggestions that troopers pull over drivers because they look a certain way.\u00a0<\/p>\n “People accuse officers of targeting people for immigration enforcement,” Golden said. “That\u2019s not true.”<\/p>\n An officer guides a detained individual into a transport vehicle during an immigration enforcement operation in Florida. (Natasha Holt for Fox News Digital)<\/p>\n The scary part, he said, is that many illegal immigrants \u2014 including violent criminals \u2014 blend into the communities where they live and work.<\/p>\n ‘WORST OF THE WORST’: THE 10 MOST VIOLENT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS NABBED IN 2025<\/a><\/p>\n “The ones that are running around with no [traffic] violations \u2014 you might not ever see them. And they could be the worst of the worst.”<\/p>\n Operation 9\u00a0<\/p>\n During Operation 9, more than 100 officers huddled in groups before daybreak at an FHP station in Broward County. Gathered were troopers, agents from ICE and U.S. Border Patrol, deputies on specialty teams from the Broward Sheriff’s Office, officers with Florida\u2019s Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, and guardsmen with the Florida State Guard.<\/p>\n OPERATION TIDAL WAVE: ICE, FLORIDA LAW ENFORCEMENT ARREST OVER 1,100 IN RECORD-BREAKING CRACKDOWN<\/a><\/p>\n Since October, Florida has carried out eight similar operations, Sulaiman said.<\/p>\n With each round, the partnerships between agencies have become increasingly efficient, because “we all have the same common goal,” Sulaiman said.\u00a0<\/p>\n And now, he added, “we don\u2019t really go through any of the hiccups.”<\/p>\n DESANTIS ANNOUNCES FLORIDA ARRESTED 10,400 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN ‘OPERATION TIDAL WAVE’<\/a><\/p>\n As additional agencies tag along and learn, Florida\u2019s efforts continue to expand.\u00a0<\/p>\n During Operation 9, officers made frequent trips back to the station, guiding handcuffed men and women into an air-conditioned waiting area. There, they were patted down, processed for transfer to ICE and offered bottled water and snacks.\u00a0<\/p>\n A law enforcement officer documents information during an immigration enforcement operation in Florida as a detained individual stands nearby in handcuffs. (Natasha Holt for Fox News Digital)<\/p>\n Later, most would have a choice, said Nestor Yglesias, a public affairs officer for ICE who rode along on Operation 9. They could opt for an arranged flight back home, or wait in custody for an immigration hearing.<\/p>\n ICE REVEALS ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ ARRESTS IN JUST ONE DAY AFTER ROUNDING UP ‘THUGS’ CONVICTED OF VILE CRIMES<\/a><\/p>\n On a case-by-case basis, ICE determines whether an immigrant headed home will pay for his or her flight out of the country or whether the U.S. government will cover the bill, Yglesias said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some leave with cash, up to $2,600 recently, he said. The amount varies and depends on each individual\u2019s circumstances.<\/p>\n The consequences of illegal entry<\/p>\n Many officers who participate in immigration enforcement hail from other countries, said Sulaiman, who was born in Afghanistan.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n “Since they took the proper steps to come here, they feel like everyone should,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, some participating in Operation 9 expressed sympathy for immigrants\u2019 desires to be here.\u00a0<\/p>\n GOT A TIP?<\/a><\/p>\n “I kind of feel bad for them,” an officer with a Spanish accent admitted with a shrug as she turned back to her vehicle after assisting with an arrest.<\/p>\n Officers guide multiple detained individuals into a transport vehicle during a law enforcement operation. (Natasha Holt for Fox News Digital)<\/p>\n But overall, officers with Operation 9 were unapologetic about the mission.<\/p>\n “We treat every single person we stop with respect from the beginning,” Sulaiman said.\u00a0<\/p>\n CLICK HERE FOR MORE US NEWS<\/a><\/p>\n Even after a suspect resists arrest, he said, “Once it’s addressed, we’ll go right back to the same level when we first started \u2013 kindness.\u2028<\/p>\n “We\u2019re just doing our jobs. There\u2019s nothing personal.”<\/p>\n \u2018Trying to clean up the mess\u2019<\/p>\n On Day 2 of Operation 9, officers pulled over a pickup truck with pool-cleaning tools in the back for going 11 mph over the speed limit.\u00a0<\/p>\n The driver showed a passport from Mexico.<\/a> He had been in the country for six years, Golden said. He did not have a driver\u2019s license. That led to questions about his two passengers.\u00a0<\/p>\n One, officers learned, was deported 22 years earlier and slipped past authorities when he returned to the United States. The other sneaked in 22 years earlier, as well, Golden said.\u00a0<\/p>\n ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT IN FLORIDA CHARGED WITH ARSON, FELONY CRIMINAL MISCHIEF, SHERIFF SAYS<\/a><\/p>\n Their identification was from Guatemala.<\/p>\n “We don’t know if they have a criminal history,” Golden said. “We will run that later.”<\/p>\n WATCH: Fox News joins DOT amid trucking safety crackdown in Florida<\/p>\n “They seem like hard-working people, but we don’t know what they’re doing on their free time.<\/p>\n “When you\u2019re doing this job, if you let the heartstrings get to you, you\u2019ll beat yourself up nonstop.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Golden said he understands why pangs of compassion and sympathy strike some Americans.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Unfortunately, these people [getting arrested and deported] could be the best people in the world. But they did it the wrong way \u2026 They didn\u2019t go through the proper steps to get into our country legally.”<\/p>\n KRISTI NOEM ANNOUNCES MORE THAN 150 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SEX OFFENDERS ARRESTED IN MASSIVE FLORIDA CRACKDOWN<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Dave](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/dave_kerner.png\")
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