Key West business owner loses a third of his workforce overnight as immigration crackdown sweeps through Florida—despite workers having legal status.
A Trump-supporting Florida contractor is reeling after his own employees—legal, documented workers—were swept up in the president’s latest immigration dragnet.
Vincent Scardina, a roofing contractor based in the Lower Keys, voted twice for Donald Trump, proudly backing the president’s “America First” promises and hardline stance on immigration. But now, after six of his workers were detained by ICE agents in late May, Scardina says he’s left stunned—and short-staffed.
“It’s devastating,” Scardina told NBC6, fighting back tears. “You work side-by-side with these guys. They become family.”
A Workforce Torn Apart
The six men, all from Nicaragua, were on their way to a job site on May 27 when they were pulled over by Monroe County deputies. The sheriff’s office confirmed its role in transporting them to a local detention facility “for deportation processing.”
What shocked Scardina even more: the men weren’t undocumented. All six had valid work permits and pending asylum cases. “They are legally here,” said immigration attorney Regilucia Smith, who represents the group. “They have clean records. No criminal history. Nothing from Nicaragua, and nothing here.”
Despite that, ICE took them anyway.
Trump’s War on Immigrants Escalates
The crackdown is part of a sweeping directive issued last month by senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller. According to The Wall Street Journal, Miller told ICE to ramp up arrests—regardless of permit status—creating chaos in communities nationwide.
In Los Angeles, ICE agents reportedly stormed a Home Depot in a heavily Latino neighborhood, sparking protests and clashes with law enforcement. Demonstrators waved signs reading “Immigrants Are Our Backbone” and called for ICE to be abolished. The response? Trump deployed the National Guard—and Marines—to keep order, overriding the objections of California’s Democratic governor.
“We Can’t Replace These Guys”
For small businesses like Scardina’s, the fallout is already severe. The six detained workers made up one-third of his entire staff. “We don’t have a big labor pool here like in Miami or Tampa,” he said. “Even if we hired replacements tomorrow, it takes years to train them.”
Making matters worse, three of the men have already been shipped off to detention centers in Texas and California, separating them from their families and legal counsel. The remaining three are still in Monroe County awaiting legal hearings. Their future is uncertain.
Scardina admits he’s feeling betrayed. “I don’t regret everything,” he said of his vote, “but this part? This is not what I expected.”
Collateral Damage Across Florida
Scardina’s story is just one of many. Another local contractor lost nearly his entire crew to a similar raid. “He had nine, ten guys—gone in a day,” Scardina said. “His business is shut down.”
His brother and business partner, Virgil, offered a blunt reality check: “I get to go home and hug my kid. These guys don’t. And they didn’t do anything wrong.”
Trump’s Deportation Numbers Lag, But the Damage Is Real
Despite Trump’s promise to deport 15 million undocumented immigrants—a number that exceeds most credible estimates—his administration has struggled to hit its targets. As of late April, the White House said it had deported around 140,000 people in 2025.
Still, the uptick is significant. According to NBC News, ICE deported 17,200 people in April alone—a 29% increase from the previous year. And immigration detention centers are bursting. Under Trump, the average daily population has surged to 50,000—up 25% from the Biden-era average.
“We Need Workers, Not Raids”
As Florida braces for hurricane season and the labor shortage intensifies, Scardina says it’s time to rethink the direction of the country.
“I believed in the message,” he said. “But if this is what that means—ripping families apart, detaining guys with legal papers—I’m not so sure anymore.”
ICE has yet to respond to requests for comment.
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Let’s maybe hear ICE’s story and some more context around the actual law before you print a story like this, which you’ve clearly presented with a bias against Trump. But then that is what propaganda media does now isn’t it?
Typical of WOKE NextGen to try to hurt Trump with a story like this…
Contractor needs to give jobs to legal Americans…
Well there Has to be more to the story.Sent from my iPhone
Hire American. Buy American. American. Deportation And Tarriff Free.
This is for all Ignorant people who voter for this main clown and all his followers now the taco is changing his view because all farmers have no picker to pick the crops why don’t have all his followers that need a job pick the Crops that would something 😆
If, IF! this is true, it needs to stop.
It’s time we hired American youth and teach the the trade…these immigrants are not our slaves….
people who have done the right thing, going to their court dates for immigration, have work permits SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN.PERIOD!!
As Nelson from the Simpsons responds, “Ha, ha!” Don’t blame me, I didn’t vote for Trump.
America is not a place I would want to go to you are some of the most hated people in the world sad because there are good Americans
I am sure there is more to the story than this…Why don’t we stop all this negativity and get on with telling the good stuff….
It could be that this man’s workers did have paperwork proving they were legally here, but none were carrying it with them. Considering how slow government agencies can be when providing information, ICE could just be waiting for verification from the home office.