The Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday that more than 150 illegal immigrant sexual predators were arrested during an enforcement blitz in Florida that targeted foreigners linked to crimes.
Migrants accused of sexual assault and child molestation made up the bulk of the over 230 migrants caught in the statewide sweep that also captured suspects facing murder, burglary and drug charges.
“This operation was called Operation Criminal Return. I call it Operation Dirtbag, because these individuals were sex offenders, but not just sex offenders — they targeted children,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday in an interview with Fox News.
“These individuals should have never been in our country to begin with,” Ms. Noem said. “The fact that they were sexual deviants and perverts, and now we’ve gotten them off of our streets, it’s remarkable. And we need to do more of it.”
Ms. Noem said the cooperation with Florida’s law enforcement agencies is a model she wants to replicate around the country.
President Trump said federal authorities are making progress in places where they’re not welcome, such as Chicago.
Mr. Trump said Operation Midway Blitz, the crime-fighting and immigration mission, is tamping down violence in the Windy City. He cited data showing shootings were down 35%, muggings fell 41% and carjackings declined by nearly 50% in the handful of weeks that federal agents have been in Chicago.
“This has been achieved despite the extraordinary resistance from Chicago and Illinois Radical Democrat ‘Leadership,’ and the constant Violent Leftwing Terrorism against ICE Officers and Federal Agents that Insurrectionist Democrat Officials refuse to stop or prosecute, including constant physical assault and attempted assassination,” Mr. Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social.
Officials accused a Mexican of opening fire on Border Patrol agents in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood over the weekend. DHS said the suspect, whose identity wasn’t shared, has a criminal record that includes convictions for felony gun possession and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon/vehicle.
Last month, a woman was accused of ramming her car into U.S. Customs and Border Patrol vehicles, and two Venezuelans were charged with doing the same in a separate incident.
The president said more progress could be made if Chicago leaders supported federal forces the way Memphis has.
The Tennessee city witnessed significant drops in violent crime since the federal patrols began in earnest in October. Year-over-year decreases in killings, aggravated assaults, robberies and car thefts have all been recorded by Memphis police roughly 40 days into the surge.
