Operation Tidal Wave
By: Madeleine MacKenzie
There is growing skepticism about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the dangers immigration raids may pose to American citizens. Critics argue that in the process of deporting illegal immigrants, law-abiding residents are placed at risk. Florida, however, tells a very different story.
Operation Tidal Wave, a massive joint immigration enforcement operation spearheaded by Governor Ron DeSantis, has exceeded 10,400 lawful arrests as of January 2026. The success of this initiative demonstrates that when federal and state governments cooperate, immigration law can be enforced effectively, safely, and with precision. By expanding on this federalist approach, the Trump Administration can make good on its campaign promise to restore public safety by removing illegal immigrants from our country.
DeSantis has made it his mission to make Florida the “tip of the spear” in state support for federal immigration enforcement. The results of Operation Tidal Wave are proof of his commitment. During the operation, federal, state, and local partners helped arrest illegal immigrants around Florida. ICE used field office resources, in coordination with federal partners, to identify priority targets for enforcement action. Law enforcement partners included ICE Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, the DEA, the ATF, and the U.S. Marshals Service. Deportations were intelligence-driven, targeted, and legally executed.
Despite their increasingly negative portrayals in the media, ICE is like any other law enforcement agency. Its job is to enforce the law. However, ICE officers face a particularly steep challenge in doing so, as they must restore law and order following the open-borders policies of the Biden administration. Well over ten million illegal immigrants have been allowed into our country during Biden’s term alone, and this consequence must be reversed. Because what is a government, a country even, without the imposition of its borders?
If ICE fails to enforce our immigration laws, the message will become clear that there is no law and order in the United States. Borders are optional, and legal entry is irrelevant, assuming one doesn’t commit a major crime when they get here. However, crossing our borders illegally is a major crime. And it bears a direct threat to the law and order of our country. A sovereign nation cannot operate without this idea at the heart of its policy. After all, the rule of law is the spine of our country. If it breaks, everything else will collapse.
For ICE officers to fulfill the difficult but necessary duty of immigration enforcement, they must be able to do so without obstruction or political intimidation. The real danger doesn’t come from ICE; it comes from the attempts of governments and citizens alike to make their jobs impossible. Florida’s cooperative approach proves this outcome isn’t inevitable. Smooth operations are entirely within our reach.
Our Founding Fathers designed a system in which states and the federal government were intended to work together as partners. Acting as one coalition united on behalf of the American people and the legal frameworks that protect them. Florida’s success shows that when that partnership is honored, immigration enforcement can be both firm and fair. Citizens can be protected while the law is upheld.
It is up to state governments to do what they can to replicate Florida’s success. If these numbers can be matched across the country, a significant dent will be made in the illegal population in the US. This isn’t solely a federal issue; it will require cooperation across sectors to achieve the Trump administration’s mission.