A recent ICE detainment attempt in Key Largo, Florida, went viral not just because of the nature of the arrest, but also because ICE still proceeded to abduct what appears to be a nurse despite clarifying that she’s a US citizen. While the nurse was eventually let go by ICE, the incident has since sparked outrage online.
The arrest took place around 9:15 a.m. on Wednesday along U.S. 1 near the Pink Plaza in Key Largo. A routine morning drive turned into a terrifying ordeal for the woman in medical scrubs on Wednesday after federal immigration agents forcibly pulled her from her car in the Florida Keys. Here’s a repost of the video, which was originally uploaded by the Miami Herald:
In the footage, agents from ICE, CBP, and the U.S. Border Patrol swarmed the woman’s white Toyota Corolla, yanked her from the vehicle, and attempted to handcuff her as she screamed for help. “I’m a U.S. citizen, please help me!” she shouted while being forced to the ground. “This is unfair. Why are you doing this to me?” Despite her protests, the federal agents still dragged and detained her in their patrol vehicle. After verifying her citizenship, however, the agents let the woman go.
CBP spokesman Alan Regalado claimed the woman refused to roll down her window or hand over her driver’s license when first stopped. After pulling her from the car, agents searched the vehicle, located her license, ran it, and confirmed she was, in fact, a U.S. citizen. Regalado did not specify why agents targeted her vehicle during the operation, saying only, “We can’t go into specifics about what we’re going to look for,” according to CBP, transcript courtesy of Miami Herald.
People online condemned the federal agents
Sadly, the woman sped away after being let go before the media and witnesses could identify her, likely in fear of the incident and further repercussions of staying within the federal agents’ immediate vicinity. The enforcement activity is part of an ongoing immigration crackdown in the Upper Keys, where authorities detained 12 people in the area amid ramped-up immigration sweeps linked to the Trump administration’s enforcement efforts.
And despite being let go, the incident involving the US nurse has fueled renewed concerns about aggressive enforcement tactics and how easily U.S. citizens can find themselves caught in the dragnet. “It pisses me off to see them doing that. It pisses me off even more to see citizens walking and driving by not doing a damn thing. We need to stop empowering these [expletive],” fumes a commenter.
“What happened to this country?” asks another commenter. Some were worried about ICE’s rampant detainment done with impunity, which is why they are calling for proper punishments, “Need to face criminal charges for false imprisonment and kidnapping.” As it is, it appears ICE can now easily kidnap people under pretenses, based on the video, “Daylight kidnappings and nobody bats an eye. Time to organize.”
