How to Get Arrested (and Deported) in Florida

AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

A Mexican woman who engaged in a scuffle with ICE in Florida has been arrested and is now facing felony charges and removal from the country. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced her arrest this morning.

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Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the arrest of Maria Del Carmen Negrete Raya, an illegal alien from Mexico, on charges of battery on a law enforcement officer following an attack on federal immigration officers during an immigration enforcement operation in Fort Myers on August 19, 2026.

“Florida will not tolerate anyone—especially those who shouldn’t even be in our country—attacking our law enforcement officers,” said Attorney General James Uthmeier. “Our federal partners are here to enforce the law and defend America’s sovereignty. Those who assault them will face the full weight of the law. Thanks to the Office of Statewide Prosecution, the Florida Highway Patrol, ICE, and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office for investigating this case and bringing this illegal alien in to face justice.”

According to the attorney general, the incident began when ICE tried to pull over a car registered to an illegal immigrant.

After the vehicle’s occupants fled, Negrete Raya aggressively confronted the officers, charged toward their vehicle in an attempt to enter it, and kicked and punched the officers, including striking one in the groin. The officer sustained minor injuries as a result. ICE ERO disengaged to de-escalate.

Negrete Raya, 39, entered the United States without inspection. Along with the millions of other illegal aliens allowed into the country during the Biden administration, she filed an asylum application in 2023. She is amenable to removal as an alien present without admission or parole.

She was arrested on three counts of Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer in violation of Florida Statute 784.07(2)(b). Once the charges are reclassified, they will be second-degree felonies under Florida Statute 775.0848 due to her status as an unauthorized alien and punishable by up to 15 years in prison per count.

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The altercation was caught on video by a bystander and shows Negrete Raya walking up to a car door with an officer inside and opening it. Another officer then pushes her back and she falls at which point several other people start fighting with the officers, including one woman holding a baby. While on the ground Negrete Raya kicks an officer.

As Julio Rojas pointed out, the ICE officers appeared to be leaving when Negrete Raya turned this into a confrontation. It appears the officers didn't even have anyone in the car so this was all for nothing.

And here's a photo of Negrete Raya in custody.

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She will now face the charges and, if convicted, her asylum claim will be denied and she'll wind up being sent back to Mexico. We'll have to wait and see what happens, but as Attorney General Uthmeier said on X, "This isn't Minnesota."

Editor’s Note: Democrat politicians and their radical supporters will do everything they can to interfere with and threaten ICE agents enforcing our immigration laws.

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Mitch Berg 8:40 AM | August 27, 2026
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Ed Morrissey 10:00 PM | August 26, 2026
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