South Florida immigration attorneys are noticing a shift in how federal and local law enforcement are carrying out immigration arrests, with fewer high-profile raids that spark public outrage and raise legal concerns.<\/p>\n
The change appears to coincide with Markwayne Mullin replacing Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary in March.<\/p>\n
WATCH BELOW: Immigration enforcement enters new phase, attorneys say<\/p>\n
Renata Castro, an immigration attorney based in Coral Springs, said she has seen the shift firsthand.<\/p>\n
“We’re definitely seeing more detained cases across our desk,” Castro said. “We’re definitely seeing a lot more traffic-related detention… and that resulting in an immigration detention.”<\/p>\n
Castro said the approach under Noem was markedly different.<\/p>\n
“What we saw during Kristi Noem’s term was a lot of arrests without a warrant, just a big spectacle overall,” Castro said.<\/p>\n
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Immigration attorneys previously questioned the legality of many detentions carried out during Noem’s tenure. Castro said she does not have those same questions about the current approach.<\/p>\n
“These are arrests without warrants, but still following the safeguards that the law, particularly local law enforcement, has to abide by, and that’s why we’re seeing an uptick in detention numbers,” Castro said.<\/p>\n