FLORIDA (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2026) — A targeted immigration enforcement operation in the Florida Keys led to 15 arrests this week, with the Florida Highway Patrol and U.S. Border Patrol saying all of those taken into custody had prior criminal charges or convictions.
The operation happened March 9 in Key Largo and was carried out by the Florida Highway Patrol’s Criminal Alien Apprehension Team, known as CAAT, working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection as part of what the agencies called Operation Tidal Wave.
Authorities said the 15 people arrested were unlawfully present in the United States and came from Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and Guatemala. The operation was announced in a statewide news release dated March 12.
For South Florida readers, the enforcement action took place in Monroe County, at the southern end of the region’s transportation and tourism corridor, and involved both state and federal agencies with distinct roles. The Florida Highway Patrol handled the state-side enforcement piece through its CAAT unit. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which includes the U.S. Border Patrol, participated on the federal side.
That division matters. Immigration enforcement is a federal function, but Florida has increasingly tied its state law enforcement resources to those efforts through formal coordination with federal authorities. The state said the work is being done under the 287(g) program, which allows certain state and local agencies to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in identifying and processing people suspected of violating immigration law.
In this case, the state described the Key Largo operation as focused and coordinated, not a general sweep. Authorities said every person arrested in the detail had an “extensive criminal history.” The state release listed a range of prior charges and convictions tied to those arrested, including prior deportation offenses, battery, domestic violence, driving without a license, offenses involving underage persons, failure to appear in court, cocaine possession, marijuana-related offenses, theft, multiple burglaries, home invasion, felon in possession of a firearm, aggravated battery and obstruction of justice.
Executive Director Dave Kerner said the Florida Highway Patrol is leading in the arrest of what the agency described as criminal illegal aliens who committed violent crimes in the United States or abroad. He said CAAT troopers and federal partners are carrying out targeted operations intended to remove people with criminal histories from Florida communities.
Acting Chief Patrol Agent Samuel Briggs of the Miami Sector said border security depends on coordination across federal, state and local agencies. He described the Florida Highway Patrol as a force multiplier that helps federal authorities respond more quickly to threats and public safety concerns.
The release did not identify the 15 people by name, did not list individual case numbers, and did not say where each person would be held or when removal proceedings might begin. It also did not specify whether additional arrests are expected from the same operation.
What comes next will likely move into the federal immigration enforcement system. After arrest, cases involving people alleged to be unlawfully present in the country generally proceed through federal detention, processing and possible removal proceedings, depending on each person’s status and criminal record. The state release did not provide those case-specific details.
Florida used the announcement to emphasize the scale of its broader enforcement role. Since March 2025, the Florida Highway Patrol said it has apprehended more than 9,000 illegal aliens under ICE’s 287(g) program, including more than 1,600 with previous criminal history.
For residents, the immediate takeaway is that the state is continuing to publicize joint immigration enforcement details in South Florida, especially those involving people with prior criminal records. The Key Largo operation was presented as one part of a longer-running effort that combines state troopers with federal immigration authorities under an established cooperative framework.
There is no indication in the release of any threat to the general public connected to this operation beyond the arrests themselves. But the announcement makes clear Florida intends to keep using Highway Patrol resources in these targeted immigration details, particularly when state and federal officials say the people being sought have prior criminal histories.
While Boca Post’s primary coverage focuses on Boca Raton news, the newsroom also reports on major incidents across Florida when they involve statewide law enforcement operations or public safety developments relevant to South Florida readers.
