A weeklong immigration enforcement operation in Southwest Florida led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement resulted in 500 arrests, including individuals accused of murder, child abuse, and cartel ties, the agency said.
The operation, conducted from Aug. 24 through Aug. 27, involved ICE agents working alongside more than five other federal, state, and local agencies, including the Florida Highway Patrol, the Lee County Sheriff's Office, the Florida National Guard, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Among those arrested was Whycliff Longin, 28, a Haitian national who had been seeking asylum in the United States. According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, Longin allegedly broke into a home in Lehigh Acres, Florida, on Aug. 27. Just before 3 a.m., deputies responded to a 911 call from a woman who had escaped an attack in which she was strangled and fought to survive before barricading herself in a bedroom. Deputies found Longin fleeing from a neighboring residence and took him into custody. They then discovered a second woman deceased inside a bedroom, suffering from obvious signs of blunt force trauma. The medical examiner ruled her death a homicide. Longin has been charged with second-degree murder, attempted murder, sexual battery, and burglary with battery. He is being held without bond in the Lee County Jail and has an ICE detainer.
«My prayers are with the family of the woman who tragically lost her life, and with the survivor who showed incredible strength in fighting to live,» Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said in a news conference.
Elsewhere during the operation, ICE agents and Florida Highway Patrol troopers arrested a Mexican cartel member and a Honduran national accused of molesting two children, according to ICE. In another incident, after a struggle, officers arrested Noe Lux Castro, 24, a Guatemalan national who illegally entered the United States. During the incident, Castro took a trooper's Taser and attempted to use it against the patrolman, ICE said. He was charged with obstructing a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence, and resisting an officer without violence.
The sweep also brought into custody several other individuals with criminal histories. Olmen Noel Vargas-Mendoza, 40, a Honduran national, allegedly illegally reentered the United States without inspection three times and has a criminal history of domestic violence. Marlon Rolando Calderon-Castellon, 43, also from Honduras, illegally reentered the country and has a criminal history including battery and illegal drug possession. Carlos Humberto Monzon-Cabrera, 53, a Guatemalan national, has a criminal history including battery and multiple convictions for operating a motor vehicle without a valid license. Hermenegildo Andres-Juan, 52, a Guatemalan national, illegally reentered the United States after a previous deportation and has a criminal history including driving under the influence, resisting arrest, hit-and-run, and public order crimes. Armando Coc-Yat, 39, a Guatemalan national, entered the United States illegally in 2018 and has a criminal history including arrests for driving under the influence and hit-and-run; an immigration judge issued him a final order of removal in 2021. Rigoberto Vargas-Resendiz, 52, a Mexican national, illegally reentered the United States three times, including in 2018, and an immigration judge issued a final order of removal in 2011. Daren Ruiz-Mejia, 37, a Venezuelan national, illegally reentered the United States in 2016 and has a criminal history including driving under the influence of liquor.
The operation is part of a broader enforcement push. In Georgia, a recent ICE sweep netted over 700 criminal illegal aliens, including sex offenders and child abusers. In South Texas, ICE arrested a record 238 illegal immigrants in a single day during an enforcement operation. The agency has also conducted targeted crackdowns in the Washington, D.C., area, quietly arresting a jaw-dropping number of illegal immigrants.
ICE said the Southwest Florida operation was a coordinated effort with federal, state, and local partners to remove criminal illegal aliens from the community. The agency did not provide a full list of all 500 individuals arrested, but highlighted several cases with serious criminal charges or convictions.