How one of Florida's law enforcement agencies is cracking down on illegal immigrants

MIAMI, Fla. — It's a full moon on Biscayne Bay as officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission set out on their nightly patrol to be on the lookout for any boating or environmental violations. While FWC officers in South Florida deal with drunken partygoers on the water, they also help protect the state's borders from vessels trying to smuggle in illegal immigrants.

Blaze Media was able to ride along with the FWC during day and night shifts in the Miami area to see how the crackdown on illegal immigration ordered by Governor Ron DeSantis (R) is playing out at the first line of defense from incoming vessels.

The primary mission for the FWC's sworn officers is to protect "natural resources and people through proactive and responsive law enforcement services." Since the agency has statewide jurisdiction and operates on water as well as land, the FWC has been an agency used by Florida to boost personnel to intercept boats carrying illegal immigrants.

For both days Blaze Media was with the FWC, the waters in Biscayne Bay were calm. The Atlantic Ocean, while a bit choppy, was still navigable. The FWC helps run interdiction missions with the U.S. Border Patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard. While boat landings from countries like Haiti and Cuba are not new for Southern Florida, there is renewed enthusiasm with President Donald Trump using the executive branch to secure the nation's borders.

During the night ride-along, FWC officers patrolled the various cuts between the islands and keys. Any boat that wants to drop off illegal immigrants on shore in Miami has to go through those waterways, giving officers the advantage to intercept.

'We'll see what the feds have for their target, but yes, whatever target they give us, our goal is to meet and exceed that.'

While officers said there was an increase in attempted boat landings weeks before President Donald Trump took office, there has been a noticeable slowdown in the weeks since.

Their missions are not limited to patrolling the water. The agency made history recently after an arrest led to the first illegal immigrant being charged with being present in Florida illegally, now a state crime. It is a felony for illegal aliens to re-enter the state if they had previously been deported or removed.

FWC officers arrested Felipe Hernandez-Chavarria for felony trespassing. When he was booked at the Brevard County Jail, it was discovered that he is originally from Mexico and had been removed from the United States by Border Patrol in 2019.

In February, the FWC in Miami was the lead agency in the arrest of Edgar Estuardo Valenzuela, who was charged with throwing a rock at and injuring a great white heron, which is considered an endangered species. Following his arrest, Valenzuela was taken into federal custody for being in the United States illegally.

The FWC is just one of the many law enforcement departments working to make Florida the number-one state in helping the federal government solve the acute immigration crisis created by the Biden-Harris administration. All 67 sheriffs in Florida have signed agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to actively help ICE agents apprehend illegal immigrants.

"We'll see what the feds have for their target, but yes, whatever target they give us, our goal is to meet and exceed that, 100%," DeSantis previously said about the state's goals for the joint missions.

"I think that is really smart to use Gitmo strategically. If you have countries that are not going to accept their citizens back ... we can't just detain them on the mainland indefinitely, and we certainly can't just release them back into the community," DeSantis said. "We are way ahead of the curve in Florida."

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