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ICE conducts immigration raid on the island
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducted multiple coordinated raids across Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach early Thursday morning, detaining more than a dozen individuals and sending shockwaves through the local immigrant community.
City officials said they were notified by U.S. Customs of the action earlier today. 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.
More than a dozen people were detained.
For local business owners Maria Ramirez and her son Carlos, the morning began with a flood of panicked phone calls. The two run La Sureña Restaurant on South Eighth Street and have been fixtures in the community for years.
The pair said they started receiving cell phone calls from friends at about 9 a.m. notifying them of the ICE operation.
“We were just starting our day and the cell phones started ringing,” Maria said. “People told me that ICE was on the island detaining workers. You could hear fear in their voices; people are scared, really scared.”
Maria spotted an ICE vehicle along with a Florida Highway Patrol car on 14th Street as she drove to the restaurant.
Carlos said he was told by customers that ICE agents were operating near the Omni Hotel, in the Amelia Island Plantation area, on 14th Street near Hickory, and the Shave Bridge.
The Observer requested information from ICE about its operation.
"We do not discuss or disclose operational details," said ICE spokesman Christopher Meares. "Please reach out to the Jacksonville Border Patrol sector."
The ICE Jacksonville office did not answer telephone calls to its location.
“This is like a war on people. What is our government doing?” Maria said, who has lived in Fernandina Beach for 30 years. “This is terrible.”
Carlos agreed.
“It’s fear introduced into the Hispanic community. These are people just trying to earn a living for a better life,” he said. “It’s so wrong what they’re doing.”
Maria and Carlos have owned La Sureña for six years and fear the ICE operation will have a long term impact on their business.
They said word of the ICE operation resulted in more takeout orders, and many regulars did not dine at the restaurant.
“Our staff is very shaken,” Carlos said. “People are upset and worried. I mean, people get scared, you know? People are going to be more and more worried about coming out, coming out and going to work.”
Community leaders and advocates are calling for transparency and communication from federal authorities, as well as support for those affected. Many in the Hispanic community are now facing uncertainty—not only about their safety, but also about their livelihoods.
Customs and Border Protection informed the Fernandina Beach Police Department that they would be working within Fernandina in coordination with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. No further details were provided.
On-duty Fernandina police officers said they were not involved in assisting ICE.
“We weren’t notified. That never happens with operations like these,” one officer said.
An officer with the U.S. Customs office at the Port of Fernandina said the agency was not aware of the ICE enforcement and the operation was not part of their mandate at the port.
The Observer will continue to seek comment from ICE and provide updates as more information becomes available.
Comments
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Cmoss56
So this is what we have become….a police state that seeks out and captures dangerous people bagging groceries and mowing lawns….
Wait and see how many are arrested, detained, and expedited out of the area REGARDLESS of their immigration status….reports from around the country make clear that this approach is denying due process …..
We should all be very afraid
Thursday, June 12, 2025 Report this
annshu13
Our country was founded on welcoming people from countries all over the world, and as a result we have a diverse and thriving multicultural nation. Sending our military without state approval is callous and undermines our nation to Americans as well as those living in other countries.
Thursday, June 12, 2025 Report this
JJC919
I was under the impression that we were deporting violent criminals emptied out of the prisons in Central & South America - the term of endearment is "**** hole" countries! But, instead of what sounds good in the soundbites we are actually going after working men & women, striking fear in all.
All of this being done by self-proclaimed good "Christians." The Christ I was raised to love & respect is shaking his head in disbelief. Something along the lines of "whatever you do to the least of my brethren ..." should apply here.
Our rights as citizens of a free society don't evaporate all at once they erode gradually. That erosion started here today!
Thursday, June 12, 2025 Report this
Ben904
Why are the business owners not being arrested? They are just as much the criminals as anyone else. Any business that knowingly hires illegals should be shut down. Its tax evasion and fraud and it should be dealt with. War on people? Nah just follow the law and you'll be fine. I would expect less fear mongering out of a local paper like this.
Thursday, June 12, 2025 Report this
TheDonald
The island already feels safer.
Thursday, June 12, 2025 Report this
GeorgeM
“This is like a war on people. What is our government doing?” Maria said, who has lived in Fernandina Beach for 30 years. “This is terrible.” I like La Sureña Restaurant. a fine business with good and reasonably priced food and specialty ethnic groceries. but she is misguided in her words.
So, "people are scared" because someone is finally enforcing legitimate laws? Some previous administrations might have given people the idea that breaking federal criminal law was OK and encouraged and even directly supported it. So we get it that there will now have to be an adjustment period to get used to it.
Thursday, June 12, 2025 Report this
bdjobes
For many years our leaders have had a blind eye at the border while immigrants ignored our laws and entered without permission. Yes our immigration laws need to be updated but that is not an excuse to allow anyone to just walk across our border and start working/ driving/ raising children here. If this were reversed and you decided to go live in one of their countries do you think you would NOT be apprehended and there would not be consequences for your actions? It's sad but it is time to straighten this mess by returning illegal immigrants to their countries and then update our immigration laws and vetting so the good and honest immigrants have a way to gain access to our american dream.
Friday, June 13, 2025 Report this
lindareads
People entering legally show health status so as to not bring in contagious diseases (I understand that, even though our new Sec of Health, doesn’t believe in vaccine to stop spreads of diseases) but now it seems more as a power play. We are a country of immigrants; is it just to have everyone naturalized citizens who come in illegally? Should there be all kinds of ads “get your citizenship” or are people just coming for a while and then returning to their countries? It appears the majority of these people are working and living, the dangerous gangs…sure deport, but the workers at restaurants and the Omni…..come on.
Friday, June 13, 2025 Report this
DrSlider
“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.”
—Martin Niemoeller
Friday, June 13, 2025 Report this
Mark Tomes
Some people responded to this article by saying they already felt safer or that ICE was just following the law. Both are examples of Republican propaganda. The great majority of people that ICE is picking up, most likely also including those on Amelia Island, our law-abiding, tax-paying, working people. Many people that ICE picks up are subjected to handcuffs even though they are already citizens of the United States, they just happen to have a darker skin color. With law enforcement officials on the loose picking up anybody they choose, with no warrants or ethics, I feel less safe all the time.
Friday, June 13, 2025 Report this
PaulaM
This is obscene and immoral …despicable.
Friday, June 13, 2025 Report this
JoeW
Keep up the great work LEO's! Do It Again! MAGA!
Friday, June 13, 2025 Report this
Douglas69
Right wing hypocrisy has been in full bloom since before January 6th. Pardoning convicted insurrectionists is a treasonous act no matter what aisle u seat yourself. We are a nation of immigrants who must be here legally. Rather than solve the long overdue reform, Congress instead chooses to bend a knee for a wanna be tyrant. Disgusting.
Friday, June 13, 2025 Report this
JJC919
Some previous administrations might have given people the idea that breaking federal criminal law was OK and encouraged and even directly supported it." Nice, concise and simple statement - and absolutely ignores history! This is a problem decades old and across multiple administrations of both parties. This flies in the face of what was said about the fugitives and deportees of the prisons and asylums. This focuses on working people who are after the most basic of human needs. Sustenance and shelter for our loved ones is the primary goal of most people.
There is a difference in malum per se and malum prohibita. Its okay for some people in elected office to trample all over the law of the land because they are our standard bearers but those of a different ethnic heritage that cross an imaginary boundary are to be rounded up like stray animals and housed in the worst of conditions. Where is Christ in all of this? The Christ of "love thy neighbor!"
Friday, June 13, 2025 Report this