White House officials pushed back Thursday against reports that ICE agents are targeting undocumented children in Florida's foster care system, calling the claims a smear campaign against the president and immigration officers.
The controversy has been growing in South Florida over the past several weeks, amid the Trump administration's aggressive immigration and deportation policies that have affected communities nationwide.
One unexpected critic of the policy is Florida State Sen. Ileana Garcia R.
Earlier this month, Garcia posted on social media about one of the president's top aides:
"Stephen Miller has made it a point to include undocumented minors in foster care, many of whom are victims of human trafficking, in his efforts to fulfill a desperate weekly quota of deportations," she wrote. "These individuals are being picked up at the homes of foster parents. This is unacceptable! Regardless of their citizenship status."