US sending 200 Marines to Florida to provide support for ICE operations

WASHINGTON

US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) announced Thursday that 200 Marines are being sent to the state of Florida to provide administrative and logistical support to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

"Approximately 200 Marines from Marine Wing Support Squadron 272, Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina, are conducting a movement to Florida, to augment U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) interior immigration enforcement mission with critical administrative and logistical capabilities at locations as directed by ICE," NORTCOM said in a statement.

The Marines are the first wave of NORTHCOM’s support for the ICE mission, it said.

"Other support locations will include Louisiana and Texas. Service members participating in this mission will perform strictly non-law enforcement duties within ICE facilities," it added, stressing that they are prohibited from direct contact with individuals in ICE custody or "involvement in any aspect of the custody chain."

The statement came as the first immigration detainees arrived at Florida’s immigration detention center in the Everglades, which has been dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” by President Donald Trump.

State Attorney General James Uthmeier said the 3,000-bed facility is a "one-stop shop" for delivering on Trump's mass deportation agenda.

"Florida will keep leading the way on detaining, deporting and delivering for the American people," he said on X.