FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. – More than a dozen people were detained in a raid conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents across Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach early Thursday morning, according to the Fernandina Observer.
According to the Fernandina Observer’s report, ICE agents were spotted at the Circle K service station next to Ace Hardware on Eighth Street, the Shave Bridge, and near the Omni Hotel.
A video shared with News4JAX by Mike Lednovich shows two Florida Highway Patrol cars and a Border Patrol SUV.
A spokesperson with the City of Fernandina Beach told News4JAX the police department was notified that ICE would be on the island, but it was not involved in the raid.
A Fernandina Beach resident, who did not want to be identified, said he was driving his elderly mom to an appointment when he saw ICE agents pull over what appeared to be a work van.
“It made his mom feel uneasy, and like she’d be safer moving back to where she was born, even though she’s an American citizen,” he said.
He said watching the scene was intimidating.
“We had never seen anything like that here in Florida, I mean, and we’ve been here since ’85. We’ve been to the bigger cities. I lived in Texas. I’ve been, you know, in Austin, and I’ve never seen anything like it. So it was intimidating,” the man said. “It’s honestly a time or a country I don’t recognize anymore.”
News4JAX reached out to ICE asking for specific information about this raid, and responded with the following statement:
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations Miami and their respective sub-offices, conduct routine immigration enforcement activities throughout the state of Florida. As part of its routine operations, ICE arrests aliens who commit crimes and other individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws. All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removed from the United States, regardless of nationality,” an ICE spokesperson wrote.
The Florida Highway Patrol said “no raids were conducted by FHP members,” but added that troopers initiated three traffic stops on Thursday.
“After federal authorities responded, those traffic stops resulted in the arrest of four individuals. Any additional information regarding these arrests would have to be answered by CBP or ICE agents,” FHP said in a statement.
News4JAX also reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and at the time of this publication, we hadn’t heard back.
