Broward Schools Lockdown Lifted After Immigration Operation Involving Landscapers

At least two Broward County schools were placed on lockdown Wednesday morning amid a federal immigration operation involving workers from a local landscaping company.

The lockdowns have since been lifted, officials told CBS News.

St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic School and Archbishop McCarthy High School — both Catholic schools in Southwest Ranches — were locked down around 9 a.m. “due to police activity in the nearby area,” according to the Archdiocese of Miami. The Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) confirmed in a Facebook post that law enforcement officials were in the area following a “traffic stop that resulted in a federal immigration matter.”

“During the stop, the individual fled the scene, and additional resources — including aviation — are assisting in the area,” the post states.

A 9:45 a.m. update states: “BSO Cooper City was assisting the Florida Highway Patrol in an effort to locate an individual who fled from a traffic stop earlier this morning. The individual was not located, and the active search has concluded.”

A video posted online appears to show several law enforcement officers and patrol vehicles from Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) and BSO pulled over behind a landscaping truck bearing the name “Marcos & Son Landscaping Service Inc.”

In a phone interview, the company’s owner told New Times that two employees were on their way to work when they were pulled over “like what is happening all the time, with anybody.” He said neither employee has a criminal history.

It remains unclear which federal immigration agency is involved. Nestor Yglesias, a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), told New Times he could not confirm any information about the incident.

A BSO spokesperson confirmed the sheriff’s office was assisting in the operation.

This is not the first time immigration officials have targeted landscaping workers in Broward County.

In December, FHP officers were seen working alongside federal immigration officials to stop and question landscapers. Images and videos shared on social media showed workers being handcuffed after troopers pulled over their trucks.

One woman, whose husband was taken by agents that day, said he had a valid work permit.

“My children don’t want to go to school. They’re afraid. They don’t want me to be away from them because they’re scared of being left alone,” she told Telemundo. “And they ask me, ‘Mom, if you leave, what’s going to happen to us?’”

This is a breaking story and will be updated as events warrant.