157 people, including illegal immigrants, arrested in Florida for human trafficking: ‘The federal government is complicit’

Authorities arrested 157 people in Florida as part of an operation related to human and sex trafficking. Among those arrested are 25 illegal immigrants who allegedly received federal assistance.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office led what is known as “Operation Autumn Sweep,” which involved law enforcement from Marion and Lake Counties, plus the cities of Auburndale, Clermont, Davenport, Winter Haven, Lakeland and Tampa.

Aside from explaining that 96 of those arrested were soliciting prostitution and that the total arrested are charged with felonies and misdemeanors, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd noted that "Sixteen percent of these total arrests were people who should not even have been in this country."

"But they were here, and they were here because we have a federal government that enabled these criminals to come into the country, and they treated them very well after the criminals came here illegally," Sheriff Judd added.

The ages of those arrested range between 15 and 61, the Sheriff's Office said. Among those charged are three military personnel, three Disney World employees and several with criminal records.

Sheriff Judd: ‘The government is complicit in human trafficking’

During an appearance in which he explained all the steps taken by the authorities in the operation, Sheriff Judd emphasized the insecurity caused by poor immigration management and how the government facilitates illegal immigrants access to federal aid.

Sheriff Judd gave as an example the case of one of the detainees, a woman from Venezuela who flew to Mexico and crossed the border on foot. Once in Texas and having already completed the necessary paperwork, officials told the defendant that she could receive assistance such as Medicaid and SNAP. She then flew to Chicago and later moved to Florida.

"She was given free housing, all because the United States paid for that. That’s right. Use the taxpayers. This was not a stealthful act, and they gave her free travel, free housing, free food, free medical care. All while people from the hurricane are still waiting for help," he said.

Following these statements, Sheriff Judd went a step further and accused the Biden-Harris administration of being "complicit" in criminal acts like these: "Make no mistake about it, the government is complicit and is aiding and abetting human trafficking in the United States," Judd said. "In addition to that, there is a wide-open border where fentanyl is coming across, and that is encouraged, and as a result of that, we have thousands upon thousands of people dying in the United States. And then the best that our federal politicians can say was, ‘well, it didn't kill as many people this year as last year.’"

In addition to the arrests, authorities seized 10 firearms and drugs, including cocaine, MDMA and marijuana. The operation began on Oct. 2 but was interrupted by Hurricane Milton.