Florida Highway Patrol troopers and ICE agents were seen stopping and detaining drivers in the Davie area this week, alarming local residents who posted warnings on neighborhood apps and social media.
In one incident Wednesday morning, an FHP trooper stopped a black dump truck pulling a trailer advertising Bethel Lawn Service and Landscaping on westbound Griffin Road between University Drive and South Pine Island Road in Davie.
Three workers were in the truck. As the trooper began checking driver’s licenses, two of the occupants ran away, according to one of the owners, who asked that the South Florida Sun Sentinel not print her name.
The owner said the workers were Guatemalan and undocumented, but she was not aware of any of them having criminal records.
“If they see you and you’re Spanish they’re stopping you all this week,” the owner said. “We don’t do anything, we just want to work and get a better life, that’s all.”
Less than a half-hour after the initial traffic stop, law enforcement agents handcuffed one of the occupants of the lawn service truck. Authorities did not provide the Sun Sentinel with information about who he was or what he was suspected of doing.
ICE did not confirm its presence at the arrest, but one of the agents’ body armor was marked with “ERO” identifying him as Enforcement and Removal Operations, working as an ICE agent.
On the south side of Griffin, Elder Sanchez watched and took pictures. He and his cousin are co-owners of Bethel. Sanchez said he had been following ICE and FHP activity since the day before, when reports began to emerge about what appeared to be an enforcement crackdown.
“I didn’t know they had stopped our truck until I pulled over here,” he said, standing on the sidewalk just a few yards away from his truck as it was being hooked up to a tow truck. “The trooper told me he pulled them over for a tail light violation and as he was running the license, they booked it.”
Several Davie residents posted that agents appeared to be pulling over landscaping trucks.
One video that appeared on social media on Tuesday shows masked agents and FHP troopers pulling over what appears to be a landscaping truck in Davie.
Jennifer Sowinski, who filmed the video, had just dropped her kids off at school on Tuesday when she saw police activity along Orange Drive. When she looped around, she saw agents who she said looked like ICE and began recording.
Sowinski had seen many videos of immigration agents detaining people online, but it was shocking to see it happen in her neighborhood, she said.
“It just makes it more of a reality in life,” she said. “This is really happening, this is not a joke, this is not a game. This is literally happening right in our neighborhood. It’s happening all over Davie.”
A spokesperson for ICE referred a reporter to Florida Highway Patrol for comment. Florida Highway Patrol did not respond to questions about whether it is conducting operations in the area or the incident involving workers who ran away.
Throughout the day Tuesday and Wednesday, residents posted on social media and neighborhood apps where they had spotted ICE and other law enforcement agencies and posted warnings.
“ICE pulling over landscapers off 136th and 595,” one wrote. “ICE and increased police presence around douglas,” another said. “be safe!!”
Sanchez said he watched a handful of enforcement operations on Tuesday. A trooper would start by pulling a car over and getting the driver’s license, he said. “If everything is legal, he lets them go. If not, he calls ICE.” Federal agents are usually minutes away, he said.
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