The hardest part of being a foster mom isn’t the late nights or the paperwork—it’s realizing how close so many children came to real danger before someone stepped in. You start to understand the gap between what the system promises and what it actually delivers. I’ve helped kids piece their lives back together after adults who never should’ve been near them caused damage that will follow them for years. That’s the lens I bring to anything involving child safety. So when I learned what Operation Dirtbag uncovered, it hit with the force of every story I’ve ever heard from a child who trusted me enough to tell the truth.
I’ve been a foster mom. We have opened our home to children who had already endured more trauma than any child should—abuse, neglect, abandonment. I have mentored teens in foster care, trying to give them the stability and love every kid deserves. Today, I’m the mother of two daughters and consider each child I mentored part of our family. Their safety is my north star.
That’s why the Department of Homeland Security’s announcement this week felt like a thunderbolt: Operation Dirtbag—the arrest of over 150 illegal alien sex predators in Florida alone, as part of a broader sweep that put more than 230 criminal aliens into ICE custody, awaiting deportation.
These weren’t petty offenders. These were child rapists, molesters, and predators convicted of sexual battery on minors, lewd conduct with children, and possession of child sexual abuse material. Men like:
• Sergio Velazquez Carnero—convicted of fondling a child
• Vladimir Garcia—guilty of lewd battery on a 12-year-old
• Victor Julio Silva Diaz—sentenced for aggravated sexual abuse of a minor
Secretary Kristi Noem said it plainly: “These individuals TARGETED CHILDREN.” Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and Florida’s statewide 287(g) partnerships with local law enforcement, they’re off our streets. I am deeply empathetic. I’ve held crying foster children in my arms and helped teens rebuild after betrayal by the adults meant to protect them. I believe in second chances—for those who earn them. But common sense draws a hard line: If you illegally enter this country and then prey on our children, you forfeit any claim to stay.
Ask yourself—if these crimes happened in Cuba, Venezuela, Ukraine, or any other nation, would their government shield the perpetrator over their own citizens? Not one. No country on Earth prioritizes foreign criminals above its own sons and daughters. Why have we?
We’ve tried the alternative: sanctuary policies, catch-and-release, ignoring final deportation orders. The result? Preventable tragedies. Shattered childhoods. Parents like me lying awake at night, praying the system won’t fail our kids again.
Operation Dirtbag proves it doesn’t have to be this way. Florida, under Governor Ron DeSantis, showed what real partnership looks like—local jails flagging criminal aliens, ICE taking custody, predators removed. This is the model. Expand 287(g) nationwide. End sanctuary madness.
Deport violent offenders on day one.
I’ve seen the foster system up close. I know what happens when protection fails. We MUST put American children first. Not ideology. Not open borders. Not political correctness.
My daughters—and every child in this country—deserve a nation that fights for them as fiercely as any other would.
Written by Meg Weinberger, House District 94 state Rep.
