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Martin County, FL - Martin County became a focal point in a sweeping nationwide immigration enforcement, with ICE targeting areas like Golden Gate and Indiantown as part of one of the largest deportation operations in U.S. history.
According to Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek, while the Sheriff’s Office was not directly involved in the arrests, it is assisting ICE in identifying individuals with criminal records who may be eligible for deportation.
"The Sheriff’s Office itself was not involved in those pickups, and those individuals were not brought here to our jail," Budensiek told CBS 12.
The operations in Martin County are part of a broader crackdown that saw 956 arrests across the country on Sunday alone, more than tripling the arrest numbers from the previous day.
The efforts, led by ICE agents, mark a significant shift in enforcement policy under the new administration, with agents now authorized to conduct raids in areas that were previously considered off-limits, such as schools and churches.
Sheriff Budensiek also confirmed that ICE has placed a detainer on a Martin County inmate—a Mexican national facing traffic offenses and multiple DUI convictions.
He emphasized that inmates will not be deported until they serve their full sentences.
“It’s not a get-out-of-jail-free card,” Budensiek stated. “After they spend their year in jail, or even after a prison sentence, Homeland Security will have a detainer on them, and then they will remove them from the country.”
Although ICE’s exact actions and numbers in Martin County remain unclear, the raids in Golden Gate and Indiantown have sent ripples through the community.
With nearly 30 inmates in the Martin County jail facing potential detainers, local cooperation with ICE is expected to continue as enforcement ramps up.
