A woman wearing medical scrubs was forcibly taken out of her vehicle by federal immigration officers in Key Largo, Florida, according to video of the encounter.
In the footage, recorded Wednesday morning, the woman can be heard repeatedly shouting that she is a U.S. citizen as agents detain her on the roadside.
Why This Matters
The Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown has coincided with multiple reports of U.S. citizens being stopped, questioned or briefly detained by immigration authorities. These incidents have fueled ongoing concerns about racial profiling, as well as how immigration agencies are carrying out enforcement operations and determining whom to target.
Key Details of the Incident
The encounter took place at about 9:15 a.m. along U.S. Route 1 in front of the Pink Plaza at mile marker 103.4 in Key Largo, the Miami Herald reported.
Video captured by a Miami Herald reporter shows the woman being pulled from a white Toyota Corolla by federal agents from multiple agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Border Patrol.
“I’m a U.S. citizen,” she is heard yelling in the recording. “Please help me! This is unfair. Why are you doing this?”
Authorities placed her in a patrol vehicle, but she was released shortly afterward, according to the Miami Herald.
A CBP spokesperson told Newsweek: “During a traffic stop, a U.S. citizen, who was driving her illegal alien boyfriend’s car, refused to comply with repeated lawfully given orders by law enforcement to identify herself. She was removed from the vehicle and briefly held while her identity was confirmed. She was promptly released once her identity was confirmed.”
The spokesperson said that on the morning of December 3, Border Patrol—working with CBP’s Air and Marine Operations, the Florida Highway Patrol and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office—conducted targeted immigration enforcement actions in the Florida Keys.
The operation resulted in the arrest of 14 people alleged to be in the U.S. unlawfully, some with prior criminal records that include domestic violence, battery and illegal reentry after deportation. Those taken into custody will remain in ICE detention while removal proceedings move forward, the spokesperson added.
Multiple federal agencies, including ICE, CBP, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, are being deployed in support of immigration enforcement efforts as the Trump administration ramps up arrests and deportations.
How Officials Are Responding
Adam Linhardt, director of media relations for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, told Newsweek: “This stop was conducted by federal law enforcement. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office was called to the scene to help keep the peace and keep traffic flowing.”
CBP spokesperson Alan Regalado said in a statement: “She refused to cooperate and identify herself with all levels of law enforcement there.”
Miami Herald reporter David Goodhue told WSVN: “They pulled her out and cuffed her. She was screaming. At one point, she said she’s a U.S. citizen. Then they put her into one of their SUVs, and then about 10 minutes later, they let her go.”
What Comes Next
Under Republican leadership in Florida, state and local agencies are working closely with ICE to support wide-ranging immigration operations. Those efforts include stopping, detaining and transferring people suspected of being in the country without legal status, as federal authorities continue to prioritize enforcement and removal.
