Joe Biden spent four years opening America's borders to the most dangerous criminals on the planet.
Now Trump and DeSantis are cleaning up his mess one arrest at a time.
And what just happened in Florida should have every parent breathing easier tonight.
Federal and state authorities sweep Florida for predators
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced a joint enforcement operation between federal agents and Florida law enforcement that resulted in the arrest of more than 150 illegal aliens with prior sex crime convictions.¹
The operation, dubbed "Criminal Return," targeted non-citizens previously convicted of sexual offenses and other violent crimes across multiple Florida counties.¹
These weren't people who made mistakes or were down on their luck.
These were convicted sex offenders who had no business being in this country in the first place.
"We're working to make communities safer by taking dangerous offenders off the streets," Noem told Fox & Friends.¹ "This kind of coordination between federal and state law enforcement should be happening everywhere."
https://twitter.com/MichaelARothman/status/1988988786550903068?s=20
Officials confirmed the arrested individuals are now in federal custody pending removal proceedings.¹
The operation represents a dramatic escalation of the coordination between DHS and Florida that has made the state ground zero for immigration enforcement under Trump's second term.
Florida becomes Trump's model for immigration crackdown
This latest operation builds on Florida's track record as the tip of the spear for Trump's immigration agenda.
Back in April, Florida participated in Operation Tidal Wave — the largest joint immigration operation in state history that netted 1,120 criminal illegal alien arrests in just one week.²
That operation involved over 250 state law enforcement officers, National Guard members, and federal agents working together.²
DHS officials said 63% of those arrested had existing criminal convictions.²
The arrests included members of MS-13, Tren de Aragua, and other violent foreign terrorist organizations.²
Governor Ron DeSantis made Florida's position crystal clear: "Florida is proud to work closely with the Trump administration and help deliver on the 2024 mandate from America that our borders be secured and our immigration laws be followed."²
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1988959313079959613?s=20
Florida now leads the nation with 287(g) partnerships — agreements that deputize state and local law enforcement to assist federal immigration enforcement.²
DeSantis backed that commitment with nearly $300 million in funding for immigration enforcement, including hiring 80 additional law enforcement officers specifically for border security operations.³
The state even broke ground on a new interdiction station on U.S. Highway 231 with X-ray technology to scan semi-trailers entering Florida for drugs and illegal aliens.³
Meanwhile, Noem has been on a tear since taking over DHS.
Under her leadership, ICE arrests of criminal aliens have more than doubled and arrests of fugitives at large have tripled.⁴
DHS has arrested over 168,000 illegal aliens in 2025 alone, including more than 600 members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang.⁴
Noem even rode with ICE agents on operations in New York City, Northern Virginia, and Phoenix — personally overseeing arrests of gang members, human traffickers, and sex criminals.⁴
This is what actual immigration enforcement looks like when you have a President and Cabinet Secretary who believe in following the law.
Biden created this nightmare by design
The reason Florida needs these massive operations is simple: Biden spent four years deliberately importing criminals into American communities.
The open border wasn't an accident or incompetence.
It was policy.
Biden ended Trump's Remain in Mexico program, stopped border wall construction, and created the CBP One app that "paroled" over one million illegal immigrants into the country with zero vetting.
His administration released criminals with deportation orders back into communities instead of removing them.
Sex offenders, gang members, and violent felons were given bus tickets to American cities under Biden's catch-and-release program.
Now Trump and DeSantis are hunting them down block by block.
The coordination between federal and state authorities that Noem praised on Fox News should have been standard practice for the last four years.
Instead, Biden's DHS actively prevented this kind of enforcement while sanctuary cities provided safe havens for criminal aliens.
Florida refused to play that game.
DeSantis signed sweeping immigration enforcement legislation in February that created new state-level immigration crimes, mandated cooperation with federal authorities, and allocated hundreds of millions in resources.⁵
The state established a Board of Immigration Enforcement and created an Immigration Enforcement Council composed of county sheriffs and police chiefs.⁵
That infrastructure is now paying dividends with operations like Criminal Return systematically removing dangerous predators from Florida neighborhoods.
Similar enforcement actions are being planned in other states that requested deeper cooperation with federal agencies.¹
But Florida is setting the pace.
Trump won a mandate on border security and public safety.
He's delivering with partners like DeSantis who understand the assignment.
Every one of these 150 sex offenders arrested in Florida represents a child who won't become a victim, a family that won't be destroyed, a community that's safer tonight than it was yesterday.
That's what real leadership looks like.
¹ Frank Kopylov, "Homeland Security, Florida team up to arrest more than 150 illegal alien sex offenders in statewide operation," Florida News, Nov. 12, 2025.
² "Largest Joint Immigration Operation in Florida History Leads to 1,120 Criminal Alien Arrests During Weeklong Operation," Executive Office of the Governor, June 13, 2025.
³ Michelle Vecerina, "Florida boosts border security with new interdiction station, X-ray technology," Florida News, Nov. 12, 2025.
⁴ "100 Days of Secretary Noem: Making America Safe Again," U.S. Department of Homeland Security, May 5, 2025.
⁵ Kate Payne et al., "On a second try, Florida Republicans agree on a law to assist Trump's deportations," NPR, Feb. 14, 2025.
