FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ A video of border patrol officers boarding a bus in Fort Lauderdale and removing a woman whose visa expired has sparked an outcry from immigration activists.
The video shows agents detaining the woman on a Greyhound bus about 4:30 p.m. Friday after asking passengers for their identification, according to the Florida Immigrant Coalition, an activist organization that posted the video Saturday.
The footage, viewed more than 2.2 million times on Twitter, comes amid a crackdown on illegal immigration under President Donald Trump.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Miami office reported taking more than 6,000 people into custody over the past year across Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. That's up from 3,524 the prior year, according to agency figures.
While proponents of the crackdown said agents who detained the woman did a good job of enforcing the law, immigration activists said riders shouldn't have to face questions about their citizenship to ride the bus.
"Agencies like (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) are damaging the trust between community and law enforcement," the Florida Immigration Coalition wrote.
The coalition said its members were in touch with the woman's family and that she had been removed from the bus and detained. The coalition didn't release the woman's name.
Border agents removed her from the bus after concluding she overstayed her tourist visa, according to local TV station WFOR-CBS4. She was taken to a Border Patrol station, where she was turned over to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement for removal proceedings, the station reported.
Greyhound responded to social media posts about the Fort Lauderdale stop.
"This situation is currently being investigated by our team, however we have no choice but to comply with all government affiliated personnel," the Greyhound's customer service Twitter account posted. "This is not something that was initiated by any member of Greyhound."
The Sun Sentinel couldn't reach the federal agencies or a Greyhound representative on Monday despite phone calls.
Due to the U.S. government shutdown, the Border Patrol and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices in Miami weren't available to comment or confirm the woman's detention.
Federal law states that Border Patrol officials can, without a warrant, "board and search for aliens in any vessel within the territorial waters of the United States and any railcar, aircraft, conveyance, or vehicle."
The agency's jurisdiction spans 100 miles from U.S. borders, the law states.
In Florida, that encompasses the entire state.
Along with ICE, border agents are tasked with enforcing immigration policies.
This is at least the second immigration sting operation to draw public attention in recent weeks in South Florida.
ICE agents raided five 7-Eleven stores in South Florida earlier this month as part of a nationwide sweep. Arrests of undocumented immigrants also have increased in Florida last year for the first time in nearly five years, according to ICE data.
