Florida Highway Patrol officers and ICE agents were seen stopping and detaining drivers in the Davie area this week, alarming local residents who posted alerts 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 fled, according to one of the owners, who asked the South Florida Sun Sentinel not to print her name.
The owner said that the workers were Guatemalan and without documents, but she did not know that any of them had criminal records.
“If they see you and you’re Spanish they’re going to stop you this whole week,” said the owner. “We don’t do anything, we just want to work and have a better life, that’s all.”
Less than half an 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 his presence in the arrest, but the body armor of one of the agents was marked with “ERO” identifying him as an 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 that he had been following the activity of the ICE and the FHP since the previous day, when reports began to emerge about what appeared to be enforcement repression.
“I didn’t know they had stopped our truck until I got here,” he said, standing on the sidewalk just a few meters away from his truck as it was being connected 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 residents of Davie posted that the agents appeared to be pulling over landscaping trucks.
One video that appeared on social media Tuesday shows undercover 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 turned around, she saw agents who she said looked like ICE and started 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 real in life,” she said. “This is really happening, this is not a joke, this is not a game. This is literally happening in our neighborhood. It’s happening all around Davie.”
An ICE spokesman referred a reporter to the 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 escaped.
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 draws on landscapes from 136 and 595,” wrote one. “ICE and increased police presence around Douglas,” said another. “be safe!!”
Sanchez said he saw a small number of enforcement operations on Tuesday. A trooper would start by pulling over a car and taking 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.