Tren de Aragua (TdA) continues to trend the news cycle, especially after President Donald Trump used the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport nearly 240 TdA (and MS-13) gang members to El Salvador and Honduras. Trump is being opposed tooth and nail by activist U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who has tried to block the repatriations of clearly violent and dangerous criminals. 

According to a Fox News exclusive, TdA has infiltrated 16 states, including the state of Florida. A former DEA agent familiar with the rise of the terrorist gang gave insight into how they operate.

"What you're really looking at is the result of a permissive environment," former DEA agent Wesley Tabor said. "And so … when TdA first started coming into the United States, they were kind of collating into the big cities. You got Chicago, you got New York, you got El Paso, you got some other cities. But eventually what happened is: when the pressure was turned on after committing crimes or they had to flee for whatever reason, they were looking for a quieter area to go to."

In these "quieter" states and cities, TdA members then establish networks with family members and other connections, bringing other TdA members with them to those places.

One quieter city in Florida is Fort Myers, with a population of less than 100,000 residents but reasonably proximate to Sarasota and Miami. In this enclave, TdA could easily and quietly grow their network and may already be doing so. Which is probably why the Fort Myers Police Department wants a cooperation agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson is fully on board with this. So, what is the holdup? The City Council, which became triggered by the idea of treating "immigrants" to this country as if they are criminals. In a heated debate on Monday concerning a vote for the cooperation agreement, the council was deadlocked. Three of the members voted to approve the agreement, while the other three members melted down.

The Fort Myers City Council is dealing with a deadlock on immigration policies, resulting in a heated debate that has reached beyond local borders.

The council’s three-to-three tie at their recent meeting halted a motion to establish an agreement between the Fort Myers Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Mayor Kevin Anderson expressed disappointment in the outcome, emphasizing the importance of public safety.

“We also have jeopardized hundreds of millions of dollars worth of grant money,” said Anderson. “And this is grant money that we depend upon, and if we’re willing to sacrifice this grant money for people who don’t have the legal right to be here, the burden of replacing that grant money, if we want these programs to continue or these projects to continue, is going to fall on our taxpayers.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has already established cooperation through the Department of Homeland Security to utilize the Florida Highway Patrol in illegal immigration enforcement. But like the laws in other states, the main pressure on local municipalities who do not wish to cooperate is to cut them off from the federal and state teat. Obviously, the mayor and three of the council members would prefer not to have to go that route. The other three council members, not so much. Darla Bonk, Diana Giraldo, and Terolyn Watson literally cried and held hands as they bemoaned that their city is not for sale. Giraldo claimed special privilege and insight as "the only immigrant on the council" and intimated that this would result in immigrants being hunted down. 

WATCH:

Video of the Fort Myers City Council meeting where they did not approve their officers to have an agreement with ICE is even more insane because the members who voted against it started crying, holding hands:

"I can't stand behind this as an immigrant, the only immigrant sitting… pic.twitter.com/BDagr7suVW

— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) March 18, 2025

This is nuclear-grade Trump Derangement Syndrome combined with too much ingestion of the bat guano rantings of the hosts on MSNBC fully on display. The fact that people who are supposed to be leaders in their city cannot make distinctions between legal immigrants and taking measures to protect its citizens against criminal illegals who seek to do harm is not just willful ignorance but rank stupidity. Councilmember Bonk's tearful cries that "it is a tumultuous day and age" and that "this the day I hate sitting in this seat" show that she should have never been chosen for the seat in the first place. 

The decision may be taken out of their hands. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a strongly worded letter to the Fort Myers City Council, letting them know that if they stick with this deadlocked decision, they are in “serious and direct violation of Florida law.” The state has outlawed sanctuary cities, so by the council refusing to approve this cooperation agreement, they are creating a de facto sanctuary situation. Uthmeier warned that if the council failed to correct their decision, it would result in “all applicable civil and criminal penalties, including but not limited to being held in contempt, declaratory or injunctive relief, and removal from office by the Governor pursuant to section 908.107, Florida Statutes and the Florida Constitution.”

NEW: Florida AG @JamesUthmeierFL has sent a letter to the Fort Myers, FL city council, after they held hands and cried while not approving an agreement for their police to cooperate with ICE. AG says this decision is a “serious and direct violation of Florida law.” Says decision… https://t.co/ufO64DUFyd pic.twitter.com/6k6m6t8A4k

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) March 18, 2025

With this added pressure, will Fort Myers City Council dig in their heels or blink? Whatever decision they make, it will no doubt set a precedent on what measures local municipalities can employ to navigate between legal immigration and the criminal TdA issue and squishy city councils that cannot, or will not, distinguish between the two.

Thanks to President Trump, illegal immigration into our great country has virtually stopped. Despite the radical left's lies, new legislation wasn't needed to secure our border, just a new president.

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