Federal and local law enforcement agencies conducted 24 immigration arrests in Martin County on Tuesday, according to data kept by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The Martin County Sheriff's Office confirmed FDLE was the agency behind the arrests.
Immigration attorneys across South Florida are noting a shift in how federal and local law enforcement carry out immigration arrests, with fewer high-profile raids that spark public outrage and raise legal concerns. Renata Castro, an immigration attorney based in Coral Springs, said she has seen the shift firsthand. She said she has seen more detained cases across her desk and more traffic-related detentions resulting in immigration detention. The change appears to coincide with Markwayne Mullin replacing Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary in March.
Castro said the approach under Noem was markedly different. "What we saw during Kristi Noem's term was a lot of arrests without a warrant, just a big spectacle overall," Castro said. 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 under Mullin.
"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. According to NBC News, ICE arrested 10,000 people over five days this month. WPTV has reached out to ICE and FDLE for comment.