Key Largo Operation Tidal Wave Nets 15 Undocumented Immigrants, Including Salvadoran

The Florida Highway Patrol and U.S. Border Patrol arrested 15 people with criminal records during a targeted enforcement operation in Key Largo, carried out March 9 as part of Operation Tidal Wave, with FHP's Criminal Alien Apprehension Team coordinating alongside U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Among those apprehended was a Salvadoran national with a reported criminal history that included battery, home invasion, burglary, and cocaine possession, according to U.S. Border Patrol.

CAAT troopers and CBP agents detained the 15 individuals, all of them unlawfully present in the United States, representing nationals from Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, and Guatemala, and all with extensive criminal histories. Prior charges and convictions across the group included battery and domestic violence, drug possession and distribution, burglary, theft, home invasion, aggravated battery, firearm offenses and obstruction of justice, among others, with some also carrying prior deportation offenses and failures to appear in court.

FLHSMV Executive Director Dave Kerner said in a statement: "Our Criminal Alien Apprehension Team and federal partners are executing targeted, coordinated operations that remove criminal aliens off our streets. This is what accountability looks like, and Florida will continue to lead with decisive action to protect our residents."

Acting Chief Patrol Agent Samuel Briggs of the U.S. Border Patrol's Miami Sector said the partnership serves as "a force multiplier, enabling us to respond swiftly and effectively to threats, protect our communities, and uphold the security of our nation's borders."

"Border security is a whole-of-government effort, and the success of our mission depends on strong partnerships with federal, state, and local agencies, including the Florida Highway Patrol," Briggs wrote in a separate statement following the arrests.

The 15 individuals arrested in Key Largo remain in custody pending further legal and immigration proceedings.

Since March 2025, under the 287(g) program, the Florida Highway Patrol has apprehended more than 9,000 people unlawfully present in the country, including more than 1,600 with previous criminal history. The 287(g) program allows state agents to collaborate with federal authorities in enforcing immigration laws. The Key Largo sweep adds to a pattern of coordinated enforcement operations conducted under that authority across Florida, with Monroe County now a documented site of Operation Tidal Wave activity.