MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — The Martin County Sheriff's Office confirmed Tuesday that it was involved in its first operation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Indiantown.
The operation took place last week and ended with 11 individuals turned over to ICE, two of whom had criminal histories.
WATCH BELOW: Martin County sheriff explains how they're working with ICE
Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said his agency's message to residents is if you're not committing crimes, they're not after you right now.
"We're after criminal aliens and if you're hanging out with criminal aliens, you're likely to get wrapped up in some of the arrests that are made," Budensiek said.
WPTVs spoke to Inez Pacheco, who grew up in Indiantown, to get her thoughts on the situation. Her family owns a restaurant on Warfield Boulevard.
Pacheco saw a lot of undercover vehicles in town last week and believes that is translating into fewer restaurant customers.
"Have been our customers since forever and they're not here anymore because everybody is scared," Pacheco said.
SUSPECT ARRESTED IN SEWALL'S POINT
The Martin County Sheriff's Office said that in a separate operation Monday night, they arrested a man in Sewall's Point who is suspected of being in the country illegally. The suspect, Wilker Alejandro Gutierrez Quintero, was on the FBI's watch list because of alleged ties to the notorious Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua.
"We made an arrest for no driver's license, but that individual is now sitting in our jail with an ICE detainer and when the driving charge runs its course, they will be deported," Budensiek said.
Inez Pacheco said she's not opposed to getting people off the streets who need to be removed, but hopes innocent people don’t get caught up in the activity.
"(It's) kind of sad because at the end of the day, we all need each other," Pacheco said. "We're all trying to work, we're all trying to support our families. We're all trying to do the best that we can."
