U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained 20 people in Alachua County since Aug. 31, when The Alligator last reported on the issue.
Arrest counts for September, as of Sept. 27, are on track to be slightly lower than those from last month, when 28 people were booked into the Alachua County Jail and transferred to ICE custody. Of those August arrests, a majority took place in the last two weeks of the month, corresponding to a statewide operation leading to thousands of arrests across Florida.
The agencies responsible for this month’s Alachua arrests varied and included the U.S. Marshals, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Highway Patrol. Arrest reports found for five of the individuals indicated state or federal agencies carried out the initial arrests before transferring the detainees to ICE to continue their immigration proceedings.
For one individual, county booking logs indicated they were initially detained for traffic violations. Another was arrested on charges of resisting an officer. Subsequent arrest reports show they were then transferred to ICE custody on separate occasions.
The FHP led the group with 15 arrests, or three-fourths of total cases. The sheriff’s office followed with four cases, while U.S. Marshals carried out just one.
The majority of those arrested by FHP are listed under the charge “ICE detainer,” while those arrested by the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office are listed under “in-house ICE detainer.” Two individuals are listed under “ICE in transit," according to Alachua County Jail booking logs.
A detainer is a request from ICE asking law enforcement to hold people for up to 48 hours beyond the time they would ordinarily release them, to give the Department of Homeland Security time to assume custody, according to the ICE website. It’s unclear what “in transit” charges mean in Alachua cases.
When contacted for a statement, all three agencies declined to respond. Alachua County Jail spokesperson John Bechard said the matter was too sensitive.
Records show over half of those detained were identified as white, followed by Hispanic. One person was identified as Black and another as Indian.
The majority of detainees are male, mid-30s and Hispanic by surname.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Sofia Alamo at salamo@alligator.org. Follow her on X @alamosofiaa.
Contact Vera Lucia Pappaterra at vpappaterra@alligator.org. Follow her on X @veralupap.
Vera Lucia Pappaterra is The Alligator's Fall 2025 Caiman editor and a junior journalism and history student. She previously served as the enterprise race and equity reporter and the university general assignment reporter. In her free time, she enjoys being a menace on wheels (bike wheels).
