FLORIDA (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2025) — The Department of Homeland Security says more than 150 criminal illegal alien sex offenders have been taken off Florida streets in a statewide ICE enforcement surge dubbed “Operation Dirtbag.” The arrests were announced Thursday in a DHS release describing the operation as a model for tougher immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump. Source
According to the agency, the crackdown targeted child predators, rapists, and violent offenders in the country illegally, focusing on people with prior convictions for sexual assault of minors, rape, lewd and lascivious conduct, child exploitation, battery, and attempted homicide. In all, DHS says more than 230 “criminal illegal aliens” were arrested, including at least 150 described as sexual predators. Source
The operation was carried out with local and state law enforcement agencies that participate in federal 287(g) agreements, which allow certain officers to perform limited immigration enforcement functions under ICE supervision. DHS framed those partnerships as a “force multiplier” that the Trump administration is leaning on to usher in what it called a “Golden Age of law and order.” Source
“I call this Operation Dirtbag because these individuals were not just sex offenders, they TARGETED CHILDREN,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in the statement. She said charges tied to the offenders include “sexual assault, battery, attempted homicide,” and added, “These 150 illegal aliens will be gone and off our streets. Our kids will be safer. This partnership with Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida is a model we want to replicate across the country.” Source
DHS said the surge, formally titled Operation Criminal Return, is intended to highlight what the agency called a new enforcement posture under Trump and Noem, saying “the era of catch-and-release is over.” The focus, according to the release, is on removing “the most violent criminal illegal aliens” while tying the effort directly to public safety and child protection. Source
The agency also listed several examples of what it described as some of the “worst of the worst” among those arrested:
- Sergio Velazquez Carnero, a Cuban national DHS identified as a “criminal illegal alien,” convicted of fondling a child.
- Victor Julio Silva Diaz, from Venezuela, convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child.
- Vladimir Garcia, a Cuban national convicted of lewd and lascivious battery on a child between 12 and 15 years old.
- Frank Rene Gacita Borges, also from Cuba, convicted of sexual battery of a minor.
- Saturnino Duran, a Cuban national convicted of lewd and lascivious behavior with a minor.
- Andrii Kurbatov, from Ukraine, convicted of receipt and possession of child sexual abuse material.
All of the individuals listed in the DHS release were described as being in the country illegally and having prior sex-related convictions tied to minors. The agency did not release a full roster of those arrested or detailed breakdowns by county in the public statement.
While the arrests were coordinated statewide, federal officials repeatedly pointed back to Florida’s cooperation with ICE under 287(g) agreements as a key factor, saying those partnerships gave officers more tools to locate and remove people with serious criminal records. The operation, DHS said, is one it wants to replicate in other states using the same model. Source
DHS did not specify when each of the arrests took place but framed the sweep as a concentrated “enforcement surge” focused on criminal noncitizens already known to the system because of prior convictions. The agency said the arrested offenders are now in federal custody and face removal from the United States.
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